The Professional and the Amateur
by Capricious Purple Clarity
Summary: Major AU. Meet Duo Maxwell, a man who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and struggles to make ends meet. Meet Heero Yuy, a famous three time Oscar winning actor. Add a splash of lime, and you get instant YAOI.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: Don't own, didn't ask, don't tell, we'll be fine. Disclaimer applies throughout the fic and will not be repeated -I try to prevent redundancy whenever possible.

PAIRINGS: Developing 1+2, established 3+4, 5+D

WARNINGS: Hmm... Yaoi, anyone? YAOI -boy on boy love. If you don't like it, there's this handy little button at the top of the page. It may say something like "BACK", or simply be an arrow pointing to the left. I suggest you exercise the right to use it now if you disapprove.

STATUS: AU (meaning Alternate Universe, just in case you didn't know...)

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I wish I could say this came to me of my own creativity, but... Do you really want me to lie to you? . Actually it sort of comes from watching (gasp I watched T.V. for half an hour! Go fig!) Saturday Night Live with the guy that played Fox Mulder on the X-Files. Something about a male dancer named Mango and David whatshisname can't stop thinking about the guy he saved. I didn't watch the rest; I immediately began writing down the idea and as it came along, the story line developed, and... well, here it is! grins sheepishly

**AUTHOR'S NOTE 07-01-05: PLEASE READ! I actually posted this fic a long time ago under a different author's name -Kel of Mayhem. I still use that name occasionally, but only in blogs and such. Anyway, I've decided to pick up the story again, with several modifications and under my new SN. (Ever since I stumbled across another author with the same SN as my old one, I haven't really wanted to post anything under Kel of Mayhem -so I changed it.) Anyway, if you recognize the story from long ago, don't freak -I'm the same person.**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Prologue_**

* * *

He stared down into the murky water with glazed violet eyes, wondering curiously where all the water truly came from. He knew, for a fact, that water came from the ocean that fed rivers and clouds to develop rain. He knew that the rain seeped into the ground, soon back into some underground spring that fed some lake that was again absorbed into the clouds and taken somewhere else. He also knew that the cycle simply repeated after that.

But where, exactly, did it come from? If he could have stayed in school, perhaps he could have known. He still had a small chance of learning... if only he could take the time to go back to school and earn something of a high school education–-

_Stop thinking about yourself_, he scolded himself harshly, tearing his eyes away from the lapping water below. _Lord knows I can't think about wasting what little money I've earned on my petty wishes and desires. Aunt Helen and Hilde need my help a lot more than I need an education._

_But I wish... Oh, God, do I wish..._

He thought back, sadness overcoming his usually chipper heart. His parents had died in a car crash, leaving him with his abandoned aunt and her daughter. When his aunt Helen grew sick, and Hilde was a part of a terrible accident, he needed to quit school and find a job to help support medical bills, housing bills, bills, bills...

He leaned his warm forehead against the cool metal of the bridge beam, holding back a small, dry sob of despair and disgust. If only he were better! He'd have more job opportunities if only he had some form of high school education. Maybe then Aunt Helen could get better, and Hilde could finally recover, and he wouldn't have to worry so much about where his life was heading and maybe he wouldn't have been as miserable as he was.

He growled low, punching the beam for emphasis of his anger and helplessness. The thick metal simply emitted an echoing sound and stood still, almost like it was daring him to try again. He didn't, though. It was stupid to even try.

This is when his world changed.

Before he could even breathe his next breath, something startled him from his deep musings. Eyes of a deep amethyst color searched the darkened streets for some sign of aggression, and he flittered nervously about his perch. The streets were very dangerous at the dead of the night, when no one would step out of the safety of their homes to help some stranger if he or she began screaming. He didn't doubt that there were many sickos out there waiting for some one like him to walk by the hole they slept in during the day.

There. The sound again. His breath quickened as he began to scramble from his make-shift seat over the water. The ground under his feet rocked as the foundation complained under the explosion that suddenly erupted near him, and he almost lost the little balance he had. With fear gripping his heart he began to hurry from the edge...

"Oi, wha's 'da lady doin' on 'da set?"

Surprised at the sudden voice, harried about being mistaken for a woman again, and frightened by the prospect of some gang member finding him, Duo Maxwell lost his balance and slipped disgracefully, falling over the rain slicked side of the bridge, his braid flipping in the wind, blinding his view of the silhouettes he suddenly saw before he closed his eyes and braced himself...

The red hot agony of a thousand piercing needles overwhelmed him before unconsciousness overcame him in an instant...

* * *

"Hey! Some lady just fell off the bridge, man!"

"What? Cut! Get the E.M.T.s down there and see if she's alright, ASAP!"

"The E.M.T.s'll take too long getting here, man, you know that! They're all deeper in town where the explosions were mainly located!"

"Get a hold of them anyway, now!"

Heero Yuy stood aside from the rest, looking below with an expression of bafflement on his face. A woman was on the bridge? Why? Didn't the staff make sure the path was empty before they began shooting? HOW could they miss someone?

The Japanese boy looked around, appalled by the carelessness of those Americans. With a growl, he pulled himself onto the edge and took position...

"Yuy? Yuy! Don't you go play the hero, boy, that's only in movies!"

"You want her to drown!" he snapped back, sending the man speaking a dirty look of disprovement. The older man didn't reply, instead choosing to stare the stoic boy straight in the eye with a neutral expression on his haggard face. Before the older man could even think of another reply, Heero dived off the edge of the bridge, soon engulfed in pain and water as he broke the surface, ears popping at the sudden displacement of mass and weight.

He swam lower, his mind filled with concern. Never before had someone had an accident on the scene, at least not in any movies he'd played in. And why was he suddenly enamored with the flash of... were they violet?... eyes that he caught sight of before the beauty fell to the water below? Violet eyes filled with astonishment and annoyance, with dread swirling in the many emotions of those deep amethyst orbs.

His hands, agile and quick, began to wave in front of him in hopes of finding something to grab onto. A piece of cloth, an arm, a leg... _anything_, just as long as he found that violet eyed sight once more...

His hand connected with a long, rope-like object and he froze in something akin to troubled worry. The rope-like feeling had, at first, felt much like a snake. The Japanese boy, however, had taken a firm grip of the rope and pulled it closer, lugging something attached to it also. Grappling, he found his arms tightly wrung around a slight body. All worry seeped into the water as relief quickly replaced that emotion and he began to swim to the surface of the murky water...

He broke the watery top with a gasp of breathe, throwing his head back to swing the soppy, wet moss green hair from his cobalt blue eyes. Coughing and tightening his hold on the lithe woman, he began to paddle toward the shore not far from him...

Later, with the woman laid limp on the ground and Heero gasping for air beside her, he began to automatically check her pulse, her heart beat, listen for her breathe...

Imagine his surprise when his gentle hands encountered a flat chest when checking for a heart beat. Eyes widen, all he could stutter were two simple words...

"A-a boy?..."

_**OWARI Prologue**_

Review, please! Constructive criticism always desired and encouraged. Flames will be heartily chortled over and used to fuel the fire of creativity, kids.


	2. Chapter One

**Big thanks go to my reviewers F. Jane, Keiran, little ditty, Nicole, ahanchan, Shini, Psychobrat, and vanessy! Thank you all for the encouragement, and I especially appreciate and promote the positive criticism.**

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_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Chapter One_**

* * *

Duo came to in what felt like an instant, but could have been slowly and in a span of minutes. He found himself lying in a cold, sterile hospital cot surrounded by somber, impersonal metal beams and steadily beeping machines. The room itself was a detached off-white color decorated with nothing but the simple borderline going across the center of all four walls. All in all, it was a typical hospital room. 

Dizzily the braided one sat up in his bed, abruptly tearing away the I.V. in his arm and ripping the small patches dotting his chest. He couldn't be there. He had to go home and take care of Aunt Helen and Hilde and little Solo. He didn't have time or the money to be in a hospital bed for another minute; hell, he most likely didn't have the money to pay for the time already spent! With a bark of bitter laughter he slid out of bed and placed his bare feet on the floor.

With one step he lost all sense of balance. It was as if suddenly the nerves in his legs decided to go on a short vacation from his brain, therefore coming home and not replying immediately. With little elegance his vision swam and he began to fall forward, the ground rushing up to meet him. Closing his eyes he held his arms in front of him to brace his fall–-

He didn't hit the ground as he'd expected. Instead he found himself supported in two strong arms, firm and well toned, and a solid chest. Amethystine eyes snapped open in astonishment. Someone was in his room with him? It couldn't possibly have been Hilde or Aunt Helen. With deliberate slowness his eyes traced finely muscled, tanned arms, working their way above the firm chest clad only in a forest green muscle shirt, kissing the perfect neck of his savior with glee, and finally making contact with his face. His chin suggested he wasn't much older than Duo himself was. His hair was disheveled, only to appease his great looks. And his eyes...

His Prussian blue eyes were the most beautiful color he himself had ever had a chance to stare into. Startling light against his dark complexion, yet not ghastly so. They were, without a doubt, his best feature.

The angel holding him close whispered something, his smooth nasal tones washing over Duo like the tides themselves. His voice, if not slightly nasal, was rich and somewhat soothing. Duo felt his reply screech to a stop on his tongue, unable to say what he wanted to at first. Just staring at those gorgeous lips was enough to send Duo into a stuttering wreck. Why discourage himself in such a way? But the boy–-Japanese, Duo finally realized–-looked even more concerned when he didn't reply immediately. Swallowing, Duo hoped against all hope that his voice didn't sound quite as high and nervous as it sounded to him when he opened his mouth and replied...

Heero watched silently in the corner as the American boy's shaking hands began extracting the hospital devices from his person hurriedly, as if his very life depended on it. The Japanese boy at first made no move; he was stunned by the clearest pair of amethyst orbs he had ever had a chance to see.

* * *

While the American had slept, Heero admired the serene beauty possessed by the braided boy lying in bed. A gamin face with wide, expressive eyes set with a pert nose and heart-shaped lips were the keys for his silent appraisal. Wisps of bangs swept his closed eyelids. Heero dared to even brush them away in private, when the room was empty and there was no sound other than the beeping of the machines. The long, rope-like braid fell over his chest, rising and falling in union with his breathing.

The boy took his breath away.

The boy planted his bare feet firmly on the cold floor and stood immediately. Suddenly he lurched forward and began falling, a panicked expression crossing his face before those beautiful violets disappeared behind eyelids and his arms reached out in front of him.

Without a second thought Heero grabbed the boy and held him firm, taking in the clinging scent of violas and river water all in an instant. Heero was paralyzed, the delicate boy in his arms wrapping his grip around Heero to catch himself in arms already secured around his shoulders. Heero inhaled deeply, taking in as much of the scent as he could while admiring the top of the American's head and tracking the chestnut strands till they disappeared into the loose braid. He watched, breath held in, as the boy's wide, stunning eyes shadowed every detail before finally focusing on his face.

Both stood in numbed silence, the American still in Heero's arms before Heero could finally murmur, "Ogenki desu ka?" Yet instead of murmuring his question in English, he did so in Japanese. The boy looked dazed, his eyes focused on Heero's lips more than paying attention to what Heero said.

_Maybe he didn't understand, _Heero thought, feeling a rare show of embarrassment mingle with his concern. Frowning, he opened his mouth to repeat his question in English before the beauty in his arms did the same and breathed out a breathless and wistful, "Hai..." Heero was floored. The breathlessness of his voice was like music to his ears, soft and melodious.

Heero tilted his head to the side, a lock of hair falling over one eye.

Duo began to become even more nervous when the angel before him didn't say anything else. He wanted to hear those soothing tones of his voice again, to lose himself in the Japanese boy's words and marvelous language...

Finally the Japanese boy's mouth closed shut and his head tilted to the side slightly, a lock of moss green hair falling in one Prussian eye. Duo fought the urge to brush that wisp of glossy hair from the other boy's eye, but it didn't stop him from longing more contact with him.

"Nihongo ga dekimasu ka?" Duo's knees trembled with the question. Thank God for his curiosity in the foreign languages. He forced himself to concentrate on something other than the Japanese boy's soft lips and ravishing Prussian eyes, instead focusing solely on the taller boy's long neck...

"Hai, sukoshi dekimasu." With a silent prayer the American ventured, "O... Onamae wa nan to osshaimasu ka?"

The Japanese boy smiled–-Duo gasped at the simple tilt of his lips, feeling his insides knot with just his smile–-and replied smoothly, in a gentle baritone, "Watashi no namae wa Heero Yuy desu. Anata no namae wa?"

_Heero..._ With a gulp of air, Duo replied dazedly, "Duo. Duo Maxwell desu. Doozo yorashiku."

"Duo..." murmured the taller Japanese boy, smiling slightly still and tightening his grip ever-so-lightly across Duo's shoulders. "It's a pleasure."

_**OWARI Chapter One**_

Sorry this chapter was so short. I swear they get longer as it goes along.

Um. :_wince_: All this Japanese really brings back bad memories of me struggling through my Japanese 101 course. Whatever possessed me to take it went away fairly quick after I proceeded to spectacularly fail the course. :_mutters_: Still think I would have passed if Otaka-sensei taught us how to speak Japanese before the katakana and the hiragana... Anyway, sorry if I bastardized the language in any way -like I said, I didn't exactly pass the course. Here's the translation for those of you who aren't familiar with anything more than a phrase or two...

Heero: Are you well?  
Duo: Yes...  
Heero: Do you speak Japanese?  
Duo: Yes, I speak a little. What is your name?  
Heero: My name is Heero Yuy. Who are you?  
Duo: Duo. I'm Duo Maxwell. Pleased to meet you.

:_holds up sign that reads "REVIEW WHORE"_: I always like to hear what you think about my work.


	3. Chapter Two

Thanks to all for the lovely reviews. And I swear, these chapters do eventually get longer...

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Chapter Two_**

"Duo..." murmured the taller Japanese boy, smiling slightly still and tightening his grip ever-so-lightly across Duo's shoulders. "It's a pleasure."

Duo fought off the redness that began to creep slowly up his face and lost as he felt heat in his cheeks. He didn't move for a long while, instead trying to find something else to stare at other than what was offered as a vision in front of him. With a lowered head he laughed nervously.

"I must look like an idiot, stumbling out like that," he said in embarrassment, almost pushing himself away from the Japanese boy to sit on the bed. Or to find his clothes. Or anything! Anything other than standing wrapped in the handsome boy's–-Heero–-comforting arms like a fool. However, the braided American didn't even move. He couldn't force himself to push away and stand on his own.

_Baaaaka!_

"It's okay," the other murmured, smiling a devilish smile and slowly, as if reluctantly, sitting on the bed with him. "The drugs are just running out of your system. Do you remember what happened?"

Duo blinked once, confused by Heero's words. Drugs? What had he been doing that day! He began to think back, feeling a bit dazed from his sleep. That morning he had started off the day like usual; he skipped breakfast to leave for work on time, where he was mobbed by a dozen shopping girls in hopes of having the "cute clerk with the braid" help them out with assorted items. After leaving that job he had gone to _Fortunado's_ in order to start his second job as a waiter-slash-cook.

Correction: His "used to be" second job.

It had been night after that, with him trudging home with his last paycheck and a kicked ego. He had decided to stop and sit on the bridge, in a hidden nook that he'd found when he was younger and his parents had died...

His eyes lit up with worry. "My God, the explosions! Is anyone hurt? What happened? Shit, I hope no one was hurt! I was just heading home and all of a sudden–-_BOOM!_–-there were all those bangs and–-I think I heard gunshots–-around the warehouse area. What the hell happened anyway?"

The Japanese boy's eyes had grown wide during his whole reply and quick fire questions of concern. Stopping in mid-sentence with something akin to chagrin sliding down his spine, Duo held his breath and waited for the other boy to answer.

"You... didn't know?" Heero finally asked, tilting his head to the side with something unidentifiable in his eyes. "Do you... recognize me in any way?"

Duo blinked again. _Should I?_ "Um. If I said no, would you think of me as a moron? 'Cuz I don't have a clue." He paused, finally glancing toward the other boy again with nervousness printed across his face. "Did you go to Grant Middle School? Or are you a regular at _Fortunado's_? And what am I supposed to know, exactly? Where those warehouses condemned or something?"

----------

Heero half-listened to question after question the American boy pitched, still musing on the inside. How could it that the other didn't know who he was? Usually he couldn't walk out onto a street without being mobbed! It entered his mind, finally, that if he didn't interrupt the braided beauty soon, it was quite possible that the other boy would pass out from lack of oxygen.

"I'm–-"

The door banged open, and Heero jumped off of the bed in a fluster of nerves, almost snapping at whoever intruded on him so suddenly. When he noticed the aging man with the wild, grey hair, sun glasses, and the loud Hawaiian shirt, he settled down his nerves and instead glowered quietly at the other man.

"There you are, Yuy!" the man growled out in a good-natured way, trying to keep the stern expression on his face and failing miserably. The older man knew where he'd been for the passed five hours and didn't particularly mind. That is, until the other must have realized this might effect Heero's performance.

"Howard," Heero said in his best warning tone, looking toward the confused braided boy sitting cross-legged in bed...

----------

"There you are, Yuy!" Howard nearly grinned when he saw the little brat glaring at him in such a way he could have possibly given a fit man a heart attack. Yuy might not have been openly cocky, but Howard was set and determined to knock any ego the actors of his movies gained. It was what made others hard to work with him, except for the stubborn who decided they liked Howard in some strange way.

Yuy was his little project. He'd never had the pleasure of working with the three-time Oscar award winner, and found the young pup something of a change of pace. He enjoyed teasing the other, and the squirt loved to cause screw-ups on the set. Howard didn't mind, the cast didn't care, and everyone was happier that way.

But there was still that confident air about Heero Yuy that bugged Howard to no end. All those little trophies must have gotten to him, and he was bent on clearing the atmosphere of his quiet, cocky airs.

"Howard," the sprat warned seriously, leveling a stare off at Howard before his gaze flickered to the bed. Howard's gaze followed Yuy's, only to find the amethyst eyes of the patient switching back and forth between the two in something of a bit of confusion and amusement. When both of them were looking at her, however, the girl with the long hair looked less amused and more than a little abashed.

"So the chick's finally awake?" Howard huffed with his arms thrown up. "Maybe now Yuy can stop hovering over her bed so we can get some work done around here!" Howard grinning inwardly. He had a feeling Heero Yuy had found a very nice girl in the river, indeed he did. With a little teasing and a bit of pushing, he could finally get the other a date–-

Instead of blushing prettily like Howard had expected, the beautiful girl's jaw dropped open comically before she snapped her jaw shut to frown. "_Chick_?" _Uh-oh_, Howard thought inwardly, wincing and slapping his forehead mentally. _Moron, moron, moron! Not all chicks like to be called chick!_

Rather than the yelling and cursing and screaming as he immediately expected, the girl began to laugh huskily, a small smile forming at her lips. Howard breathed a sigh of relief, physically swatting a hand across his forehead. With that pure amusement, he knew, thankfully, that he was out of the frying pan with no fire in sight.

Yuy was glaring at him, though. Confused, Howard looked toward the Japanese actor with the question written across his face.

"Howard," Yuy muttered low, jerking his head toward the laughing girl in bed, "this young _man_ is Duo Maxwell. Duo, this is Howard Stiles... my producer and director."

Howard blinked and whipped around to stare at the young gir–-boy in the bed. _What the hell?_

----------

Duo was laughing so hard at the older man's expression that the last part of the introduction floated in one ear and flew right back out the other. The man's face held astonishment as he looked closer at him, and his jaw dropped when he noted the flat chest. Eyes twinkling wickedly, Duo held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Stiles." He grinned when the flustered older man took an automatic step to shake Duo's hand. _Poor sucker... He's taking it so hard..._

"Um, ah, nice to meet you too, Mr. Maxwell. I, uh... shit, I'm sorry about the 'chick' comment..."

"People make the same mistake all the time, Mr. Stiles," Duo assured him with a mournful mental sigh. "Don't worry about it. Some grope before asking, ne?" Duo laughed again, remember all the startled faces of the gropers when they reached from behind only to grab nothing. And that was usually AFTER they slapped Duo's butt in a flirting way...

"Ah..." The older man cocked a brow in Heero's direction, a allusive look crossing his weathered face before it disappeared again, leaving nothing but courteous humor and teasing. "Well, Mr. Maxwell, I do hope you forgive me for my mistake." With an exaggerated bow that made Duo laugh once again, he turned back to Heero.

"Not that your absence really matters for a while, anyway," Mr. Stiles sighed dramatically, throwing his head back as he slumped into a chair. "We need to wait until we find a replacement for Maggie Philips. She cancelled her contract as of today."

Heero's head snapped over toward Mr. Stiles, bewilderment spread across his handsome face. "What? Why?"

----------

_Mags quit?_ It didn't really matter to Heero. Off-screen, he and Mags were mere talking acquaintances, though on-screen they played several romantic roles together. The most recent movie they were working on involved another of those romantic roles. But Mags was never known as a quitter for _any_ reasons.

"What? Why?"

Howard sighed again. "She found out about the original script from one of those talkative fellows during coffee break not long ago. She didn't feel comfortable in the role of a character who was originally supposed to be male and STILL falling for and winning the main character. I'm just glad that we hadn't started filming many of her roles, though looking for a replacement will set us back behind schedule."

_Damn._ Those were, in fact, qualified reasons for Mags to quit. The woman was no homophobic, but if she wasn't meant for a role she would just up and quit there on the spot before anything got uncomfortable for her or anyone else.

"How long do you suppose that will take?"

"Know anyone with decent acting skills?" Howard joked in reply, sending Heero into dry chuckles. He knew plenty of people with acting skills; the question was, would they want to come without further warning and play the role of a guy falling for the main character? Most actors were open-minded in that prospect, but men still weren't willing to kiss another man on-screen unless they, too, swung that way.

"Are we sticking to the original or are we still doing the re-written version?" Heero asked quietly. He personally hoped it was the original that they were doing. He thought it was exciting, doing the first movie with a "not completely ethical" man-on-man pairing in it. Perhaps, with Mags gone, they could consider that script once again.

Howard shrugged. "I've gotten the higher-ups to let us do whichever depending on the first decent actor or actress that comes along. Right now, they don't care if we have to snag someone off the streets; we're burning up money as it is."

_There's still a chance..._ No Oscar flew in front of Heero's eyes for this; he had plenty of those. Instead the thought of doing something totally different from everyone else was just... enticing. Now if he could only get a guy to do the role...

With hidden longing he glanced in Duo's direction. The braided American had been sitting in bed, cuddled among his thin blankets and watching the exchange silently. He wished he could offer the lovely bisheinen the part, but he couldn't possibly take the chance that Duo couldn't act...

The braided boy's mouth opened slightly. Finally, he blurted, "Are you guys doing a play or something? 'Cuz I know a few dudes with acting experiences willing to do anything for another role."

Heero's heart quickened. "How do you know them?" he asked, hoping that the wishful tinge was in his imagination and not in his tone. Duo grinned and held up two fingers.

"Met 'em after I spent some time with them on a modernized version of 'Romeo and Juliet'. But wait a sec!" Duo frowned cutely, his brows bunching together in thought. "Oh, never mind. The whole cast was male, and the person you were trying to replace is a girl. I'm sorry..."

Heero looked at Howard meaningfully, but Howard didn't see it. He was staring at Duo instead. "How the hell did you have a cast full of guys and still play in a drama in need of a female role?"

"It was modernized," Duo explained with an amused smile, "but they wanted to keep a little bit of Shakespeare alive. You know, women weren't allowed to set foot on a stage back in Shakespeare's time. Lessee, there was John Guy, Patrick Jennings, Robert Miller–-" Duo rattled off more names, and Heero had a sudden shocking discovery. He'd worked with these people in some form of another, with them either minor actors or secondary-main characters. And Jennings even mentioned the play Duo spoke of not even three days ago.

"I'm just surprised I ain't seen Maxwell out here yet," he'd joked after a good shoot, taking a deep drag of his cigarette. "Best damn Juliet I've ever worked with!" And he laughed, the deep gruff kind. Heero had first thought Jennings spoke of a girl when saying this, but now...

Howard grinned at Heero, That Look in his high cheeks and wide smile. Heero nimbly returned the smile, if not a weaker version, and felt even more excitement well in his chest. Anyone who could get a comment of decency out of Patrick Jennings was bound to be a worth-while actor.

They had found their replacement. Luck was on their side. p

Now all they had to do was convince one Duo Maxwell that acting was a very possible career choice.

**_OWARI Chapter Two_**

Nice people review. :_innocent smile_:


	4. Chapter Three

I apologize for the delay. Me and the internet have been non-mixy things as of late... Also, I just got back from vacation not too long ago. We unwittingly managed to land ourselves in a haunted hotel, in THE haunted room, and had a ghostly experience that seriously freaked my mum and niece out. It was great.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd just like you to know that no one who is really a theater fan would mind an all-male Romeo and Juliet cast, if you aren't familiar with the ways of the olden times plays. During the Shakespearean times, women were not allowed on stage for any reason. So men ended up playing the roles of women all the time, and no one really minded much back then. Duo's band of actors just re-acted the olden times ways because 1) they wished to be unique, and 2) they didn't have a female member in their group.**

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_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Chapter Three_**

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****

Duo was in awe.

Before him sat the most expensive piece of machinery he himself had ever had the chance to see. In the dim enlivening of the nearly dusk light, the convertible was of a midnight blue so dark it was nearly black. The interior was of an ivory color, cleaned of any dirt or other soils. Even the hub caps looked to be made of pure, polished silver.

Duo nearly drooled at the sight before turning slightly dazed violet eyes toward one Heero Yuy. "That can't be your car."

Heero's eyes–-those beautiful Prussian orbs–-were filled with slight amusement as he diligently took his keys from his coat pocket and walked toward the blue Porsche, answering Duo's comment without saying a single word. Docilely he followed, still reeling from recently passed actions.

It wasn't really his time to leave the hospital; in fact, the doctor had recommended that Duo stay another night to assure a full recovery. However, the braided American refused to have it, promptly demanding to be released and letting him see the bill. When the doctor claimed there was no bill, Duo had been shocked.

"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously, looking at the doctor out of the corner of one eye as he buttoned up his black shirt. "This is a hospital, isn't it? There's always a bill to be paid."

The doctor, a Cantonese looking woman with unique ponytails falling over each shoulders, and a nice pair of light blue eyes, smiled simply and stated that the hospital bill had already been paid in full. "Your friend already took care of all the arrangements," she'd reassured him. "If you'll wait a while, he'll be here in a few minutes to take you home. He's already been notified of your discharge."

Duo didn't know anyone with enough money to stick his or her neck out like that, but he had a nasty suspicion when he thought about it. Maybe it was that director dude wanting him in that play he and Heero Yuy were talking about? He still didn't know about their proposal that he take the place of this Maggie girl. Maybe the director guy was trying to butter him up?

Or maybe... Duo let go of that idea in a millisecond. Heero couldn't possibly be kind enough to pay for his bill! The guy barely even knew him, and vice versa. Heero, as much as it hurt to admit, just didn't seem like the guy to make quick friendships. The Japanese man was most likely just very worried about the poor moron who fell off the bridge was all. Heero couldn't see him any more than that–-

The second those words had come to mind, Heero had stepped expectantly through the door. A few nurses stopped to stare at the handsome young boy, and even a few were whispering about them. Duo made no reaction of noting him other than letting his eyes slide over the Japanese boy's outfit.

Dear God.

Heero wore baggy jeans of a black color that hung off his narrow hips, showing a simple peek of boxers, and a thin white muscle shirt glimpsed from between the open flaps of his cobalt blue over-shirt. The sleeves were rolled to the elbow, and an overcoat was supported at the bend of one elbow. His eyebrow was raised in a suggestive manner as he stood in front of the surprised American.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, his nasal voice echoing his wit as his Prussian eyes twinkled–-not merrily, but it was something close to that.

"You did _not_ just pay for my hospital bill," Duo blurted, staring up at the Japanese youth in amazement and incredulity. _He didn't. He really didn't. He just decided it would be courteous to pick me up. That's all. Howard Stiles sent him to butter me up because, damn that old coot, he knows I have something of a fixation on him. And that old coot also knows that if Heero tried hard enough, I just couldn't say no to anything he asked._

With a proud tilt in his chin, the Japanese boy said in a slight haughtily manner, "I did," and left it at that. Duo didn't even care that Heero was building himself a high horse. He was astounded that the Japanese boy would go to such lengths to please Howard.

Duo paused, hesitant to even touch the blue beauty that posed before him. "Um... this is your car?..."

Heero paused before the driver's side door, his hand pausing in front of the door handle before he swung the door open. "One of them," he said simply, and left it at that. Duo almost cursed, but instead he choked on his tongue.

"I bet you have no idea how unintentionally conceited that sounded," he murmured placidly, mostly to himself, before he opened the passenger's side door and gently slid in.

"Shitsurei desu ga?"

"Nothing!" Duo sang out, smiling broadly when Heero noticed his slip from English to Japanese for the first time. "It's okay, man," Duo announced in good humor. "I understand Japanese, remember?"

"Aa. Soo desu ka." With a slight tilt at his lips, the Japanese boy started the car with little to no hurry. Once they were well on their way, he finally asked, "Where do you live?"

"By the river–-you know, the one I almost drowned in?" Duo smiled in remembrance, acquiescently giving the other the directions. Heero merely raised one eyebrow in reply, but Duo made it his duty to pretend to ignore him. It was a known fact that the side of town he lived on wasn't very safe. Gangs and criminals lurked in the streets at night, and anyone dumb enough to wander out there during lights-out was as good as dead. Or raped, depending on what _kind_ of gangster or criminal found you first.

"I still don't know what those explosions were about," he added thoughtfully. "What was that, anyway? You never really told me."

"The explosions?" Heero frowned, and then remembered. "I thought I did tell you."

"Nope."

"Aa. The explosions were special effects, needed for the movie being filmed there."

"Honto ni? There's a movie being filmed there?" The braided man searched futilely for the memory of ever being told there was a movie being filmed anywhere in the city, but he drew a blank. With little reluctance he admitted he wasn't very updated when it came to movies; he didn't have a television to watch anything, anyway. He rarely had the time to go see new releases at the cinema. What was the point of keeping up with anything that went on in the movie world?

"Hai," the Japanese man eyed Duo critically for a second, making it long enough to note the loosened braid, half undone due to the loss of the hair tie, flap like a whip in the wind. The long-haired beauty probably didn't even notice the missing hair band. _That's going to be a bitch combing out,_ Heero winced. "Everyone's been touchy about it lately. The locals have been having a field day with your accident. Ever since word got out about the subject material of the movie, the fanatics have been grasping at strews trying to find something wrong with it."

Duo seemed to jump in his seat, a guilty expression crossing his gamin face. "Oh, geez, I didn't set anything back did I?"

Heero's eyes softened, still on the road before him. "No. Don't worry about it. These days, any script written will draw out the crazy and the close-minded. It's also why Mags quit. She didn't feel comfortable playing a male role and still getting the guy."

"Oh..." Duo's eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, it's like that!" The formerly braided boy turned in his seat to stare at Heero. "It's a movie promoting free love, isn't it? Some of those 'close-minded' people you were speaking of are the kind against homosexuality and the like, right?"

"Right."

"And this Mags person... But you want ME to be a replacement for someone named Mags!"

Heero blinked, stunned. _Didn't we already cover this?_ "Hai."

"Dude, you did not just tell me you wanted me to be in a movie!"

Heero was even more confused than ever. Didn't the other know? "Well, yes. Jennings spoke highly of you, and he rarely ever gives praise. Howard thought that you'd have enough talent to be a proper replacement for Mags, hopefully even better. I thought you knew."

"I _didn't_ know!" wailed the long-haired American into the cool, crisp night air. "I thought you guys were talking about a play or something! I've never been in a movie before! I'm just some two bit amateur. I did Romeo and Juliet for _fun_, man. I don't really _know_ how to act!"

Heero slowed to a crawl and pulled over on the shoulder of the road, killing the engine and staring the surprised and befuddled American straight in the eyes. With slow, deliberate movement, he reached over and caressed the side of Duo's face. "And I'm a professional actor," he said softly, his smiling eyes showing his confidence. In himself or him, Duo would never really know, but the confidence was definitely there. "Don't worry about it, Duo. All I–-we can hope for is that you'll accept Howard's proposition. You'll be perfect for the role, I just know it. I'll help you as much as I can, and I _know_ you'll do just fine, should you accept. Just please, think very carefully about it. Okay?"

Duo couldn't speak. It was that thing he knew would happen. All Heero had to do was asking him outright to take the part, and the poor American _knew_ he wouldn't hesitate to say yes. Somehow, Duo knew that Heero was aware of this. That's why he asked him to _think_ about the proposal instead of outright asking him to do it. With a slow nod of his head, observing the warmth of those hands rubbing along his jaw line, all Duo could do was nod weakly. "O-okay..." _God, I hope that didn't come out as squeaky as I feel..._

Heero nodded, a wide smile splitting his face and melting Duo's resistance in an instant. With slowness he removed his hand, as if reluctantly, from Duo's person and started the car up once more and merge expertly back into the little traffic along the highway.

"I'll walk you up."

Duo smiled weakly before opening the door to the car. "That's really unnecessary, Heero. If you leave your car alone for even a minute, there's no telling how fast it can be stripped."

"I insist," Heero replied, already beside the formerly braided American's side of the car, holding out an elbow as an offer to take it. "The car will be fine. If it isn't, I'll just call Wufei and ask him to go over to my place and bring my Lincoln Continental. He won't mind, since he loves borrowing the damn car, anyway."

"You're one of those rich types that collect cars because you can, aren't you?" Duo said dubiously, taking the offered arm and glancing around nervously. He could already see a gang across the street eyeing the tempting car hungrily, but one look from Heero seemed to quell their thoughts immediately.

The Japanese boy had that effect on people. A glare from him, it seemed, could freeze a penguin. Duo was already affectionately dubbing the glare the Yuy Glare o' Agonizing Doom.

"I like cars," he stated simply, leading Duo to the broken down apartment building without a pause.

"So do I, but I don't own 'em all," Duo said sardonically, a touch of longing in his tone of voice. _I'd maim to own at least some semblance of a vehicle, though... _he didn't add, keeping his mouth shut further of the conversation. He didn't feel it was a comfortable subject material anymore. That gleam in the other boy's eyes was scary...

"Hn." Heero paused to survey the broken lock of the apartment house door critically, grunting once more as a mere voice of his disprovement of Duo's living quarters.

He heard the formerly braided boy curse vilely, and Heero nearly grinned. Apparently the American just found out that his impossibly long braid wasn't exactly a braid anymore. Cursing fluently in four different languages, he ineffectively began brushing his fingers through the tangled mass and cursed harder and more.

Once Duo finally gave up his futile mission, they walked inside the shambled apartment building. It smelled of mildew and old liquor, and a deep smell of cigarettes intermingling with the distinct scent of weed. Further down the hall, Heero could see clearly a woman on her hands and knees, her face buried in the man's zipper. There was no doubt what the woman was doing when the man let out a low moan and filthy whispered words sliding out of his mouth. Dirty demands seemed to make up a majority of the utterances.

Heero raised his brow and looked over at the flushing Duo. His violet eyes stayed in contact with the ground as his cheeks flared in redness, and he hurriedly pounded up the stairs. With a small quark of his lips he followed the mortified American and never mentioned the incident again.

They soon stood in front of a peeling apartment door marked D69 on the third floor, Duo finally looked up into Heero's eyes with a small, if not a bit meek, smile.

"Thanks a lot, Heero," he said softly, holding a few strands of chestnut hair in his hands. "I really appreciate what you did and all. Paying for the hospital bill and taking me home... well, you didn't need to, or have to, but I'm glad you did. I swear I'll find some way to pay you back."

Heero frowned. "Duo, I don't want you to pay me back. I did it because I wanted to. It's as simple as that." With an affectionate smile, he once again ran his thumb over Duo's jaw. "Think nothing of it."

"It's not simple to me, Heero!" Duo argued. "And I will think something of it. No one's ever done that for me be–-"

The door swung open then, flooding light in the dark hall. Suddenly, without warning, a small figure let out a squeal and glomped onto Duo's waist. Tightly. Duo gasped for breath and spread his arms, looking down to find a small child wrapped around his waist.

"Uncle Duo!"

The child was no taller than Duo's ribs, and his hair was a deep violet color that brushed his shoulder. His eyes were wide and sparkling with happiness and relief, a matching shade of Duo's own eyes. He wore a pair of pajamas that looked to be old and favored, covered with pictures of small sports balls and sports equipment.

Duo's amethyst eyes softened and he wrapped his arms loosely around the child. "Hey, Solo," he said quietly. "Shouldn't you be in bed, sport?"

"'Course I should be," Solo remarked off-handedly, staring up at Duo adoringly, "but Momma and Aunt Helen are all worried about ya! Where ya been, anyway? You haven't been home all night and day!"

"Well, I had an accident... but Mr. Yuy right here," he jerked his head toward the silent Japanese boy, turning the little boy's attention onto him, "he helped me, see? Even took me home in that cool car outside. Didja see that car?"

"Uh-huh," nodded the boy, in obvious awe. "Saw it outside my window. 'M just surprised it ain't been stripped yet!"

"Which could be in process even as we speak," Heero said in dry amusement, but sounding like he didn't really mind at all. Kneeling down, he offered a hand to the boy. "I'm Heero. Nice to meet you."

"Your name is hero?" said the skeptical boy with wide eyes.

Heero smiled. "Uh-huh. My name is Heero."

"Wow..." The boy's eyes turned back up, looking at his uncle. "Hero's your hero, ain't he, Uncle Duo?"

Both of the older boys laughed. "Yeah," Duo said softly, looking at Heero with admiring eyes. "Heero's my hero."

"Wow..." Running back inside, the little boy yelled out, "Aunt Helen, Momma, Duo's back and he brought his hero!"

Duo choked on his tongue and flushed red once again, ripping his eyes away from the Japanese man to stare at the ground. Heero, however, simply chuckled softly and smiled in the direction of the little boy's retreat.

"He's a nice kid."

"Yeah..." Duo held a fond note in his voice. "Would you like to come in?"

_Yes._ "I don't want to intrude," Heero replied instead. "I need to be going. But Duo, do me a favor. Will you meet me at the corner of Mable and Fourth tomorrow afternoon? I'd like to talk to you again..."

"I... well..." _Dude, he's asking you to meet him on a day you have no work, especially since you don't work at _Fortunado's_ anymore! Goforitgoforitgoforit!_ "Sure. Tomorrow afternoon, Mable and Fourth..."

Flashing a grateful grin, Heero bowed and murmured "Ja ne" before turning to leave the apartment. With wide eyes Duo watched Heero leave, feeling his knees weaken. A sudden thought struck him.

/Mable and Fourth? Damn it, that's all the way across town! How am I supposed to get to Mable and Fourth/

Outside, Heero dialed a number on his ever present cellular phone and waited. "Yeah, Quatre? I need you and Trowa to do me a favor..."

The Next Day...

Duo yawned widely, rubbing his sleepy eyes into wakefulness. He remembered last nights events clearly–-how Hilde cried and hugged him, telling him how worried she'd been about him, especially when Carla called to ask them why he'd been late for work. They'd all thought Duo had crashed over at her house, having no desire to wander the streets at night like usual. Aunt Helen just smiled that mysterious smile and said nothing, content that her nephew was home and safe again. It had taken three stories to get the excited Solo back to sleep, and they all had to be about cars.

The problem he had that day involved cars. Or lack of one. Duo had no way of getting to Mable and Fourth, and Heero made no indication that he would pick the braided man up. Considering he knew of no one off that day, he couldn't very well ask to borrow a car. So what was he supposed to do?

"Duo, you have someone outside asking for you!" Hilde called, carrying the groceries inside. Ever since the accident five years ago, his older cousin never went outside when it was dark. She always did her shopping early in the morning, when gangs and lawbreakers crawled back into the holes they came from.

"Gotchya, coz," he replied, exiting the apartment to walk down the two flights of stairs in order to get to ground floor. Curious, he stood behind the screen door and noticed the delivery man.

"Good morning," he said automatically. The delivery man returned his greeting and held out an envelope and a clip board.

"Sign here, please." Duo did so with little flurry, taking the light envelop from the man. Inquisitive, he opened the brown enwrap and pulled out a simple note.

_Duo,_

_Here is a little something from me to you._

_Yours truly, _

_Heero Yuy_

Blinking violet orbs were the only reaction to the simple letter. Finally Duo reached deeper into the envelope, his smooth fingertips encountering cold metal. The object clinked together as he pulled it out, observing a pair of simple keys and some sort of device on a key chain. Confused, he looked up...

His heart hitched, catching in his throat as he stared. A metallic purple Jaguar XKE sat in front of the apartment building, gleaming in the morning light. He dropped the empty envelop and stared for a good two minutes...

That is, before he screamed...

"_HE GAVE ME A CAR!_"

_**OWARI Chapter Three**_

I'm going for a "Heero's conceit knows no bounds" thing here. Tell me if I'm dead-on, off-center, or eons away from my goal.

Review, onegai:_pout_:


	5. Chapter Four

**NOTE: You'll most likely hear Duo call Solo, Hilde, and Aunt Helen "coz" at one point or another. It's a little Shakespearean 'slang' he picked up from Romeo and Juliet. "Coz" doesn't necessarily mean 'cousin', but it's a form of addressing any relative. Also, Solo wants to be like Duo, who's his second cousin, not his 'uncle'. Helen is also Solo's grandma (Hilde's her daughter, and Solo is Hilde's son), but you'll frequently hear him address Helen like Duo.**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Chapter Four_**

* * *

****

"He gave me a car!"

Hilde shook her head from her position across the braided beauty, smiling softly at her dumbfounded cousin and taking a small sip of coffee. The poor man had screamed outside, which resulted in Hilde immediately going down stairs to find out what all the disturbance was about. There she found him, out cold in the door way clutching a note and a pair of keys. Once she'd finally gotten him up, he apparently had a headache from the fall, warranting the blue ice pack he held to the back of his head. He'd also been saying the same six words for the passed five minutes.

"Are you sure _he_ gave it to you, Duo? Maybe it's somebody else's car," Hilde suggested, even though she knew deep down that the car was definitely his from then on out. That was, until it was stolen... But the keys, the note, and the existence of such a car downstairs, untouched, was proof enough that it was certainly given to him.

"_He_ gave _me_ a car!"

"Well, that was certainly generous of him," Helen put in mildly, smiling in that way of hers. Hilde kind of figured the same thing her mother had. Duo had a little admirer in the form of a handsome young man in expensive jeans. Wether the braided man realized the same or not, however...

"He _gave_ me a _car_!"

"Uncle Duo, Uncle Duo," Solo jumped up and down beside his uncle excitedly, a sparkle in his eyes and a skip to his jump, "if it's okay with Aunt Helen, can you pleeeeeaaaase take me for a ride in the really cool car? Please, please, please?"

"Solo, baby," Hilde cooed softly, gently pulling the boy away from his uncle and sitting him down in his chair, "it's not 'Aunt Helen', it's Grandma. Call Momma 'Grandma', okay?"

Solo pouted. "But Uncle Duo calls her Aunt Helen."

Before Hilde could clear this up, Helen laughed lightly and reached over, stroking a strand of Solo's violet hair fondly before saying, "I don't mind at all, Hilde. He reminds me so much of Duo when he was that age..."

"Coz," Duo finally bit out, the dumbfounded expression on his face even more apparent, "_he gave me_ a _car_!"

"I _know_ that, Duo!"

"_Why_?"

Hilde sighed and patted her befuddled braided cousin on the shoulder before lying a plate of pancakes before him. "Only Mr. Yuy can answer that, Duo."

That didn't seem to clear things up for her cousin much.

----------

"You gave him a car!"

"I know that already," Heero smiled softly, reclining in the stiff metal chair and placing his legs upon the table top. "I'm the one that asked the lovebirds to have the arrangements done, remember?"

"Yeah, but... A _car_?"

"It was the least I could do."

"For what? For allowing him to fall off a bridge? Are you daft, Yuy, or are you being this obtuse on purpose?"

"Dorothy," Heero sighed in irritation, giving the blonde a look meaning business as he slowly replied, "Don't question me on my methods and I won't question yours."

"Methods of what?" sniffed the blonde actress, finally taking a seat at the patio table. She was fairly popular herself, considering she'd acted in many movies. The two actors knew each other well, since she was Heero's step-sister. Long, fair hair and forked eyebrows where her best-known features, but her calculating gaze could put anyone else in the hospital, be it from fear or something else along those lines. "I concur with much protest, but don't you think giving him a car was a bit much? Why didn't you just... I don't know. Send Paragon to pick him up in the Rolls Royce? I'm sure Paragon wouldn't have minded at all..."

"Because Duo doesn't have a car," Heero pointed out.

"Nobody _sane_ living in the ghetto would waste money on a car for good reason, Heero," Dorothy chimed somewhat moodily, a sad look coming over her expression and disappearing just as fast. Heero didn't reply. He knew that, for a better part of her life, his step-sister also lived in poverty before her mother met his father. He would never know how that felt, but seeing it in Dorothy was enough to give him an idea of how bad Duo must have had it.

_And I'll make sure it won't stay that way,_ he vowed silently, tightening his grip on his glass of lemonade and taking a quick swallow. "Hopefully he won't be living there for very long."

"Are you so sure he'll take this part?" Dorothy inquired critically, giving Heero the eye before continuing, "Maybe he's afraid of acting in front of a camera."

"Acting in front of an audience is different?" Heero snipped. "Listen, Dor, and think about it. If Duo thought about it as much as I want him to, he should have come to the conclusion that a part in a movie–-especially one of the main parts–-would consequently mean a lot of money, right? If this movie is a best seller like we hope, Duo will gain a lot of money, thus meaning he can finally move out of that apartment and find another place to live in safety."

Dorothy was silent for a while. "So you think he'll do it?"

"If not for himself, then for his family."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's bordering on manipulation, Yuy."

"Trust me, Catalonia, it isn't meant to be manipulation. I just don't want Duo living in such a dangerous neighborhood." The Japanese man sighed, placing his lemonade on the table before him and watching the sweat slide down the icy surface of the glass.

Dorothy made a retreat, a small, playful smile fidgeting along her red lips. Her step-brother may have been blind to his own emotions, but Dorothy saw them all too well. His eyes, usually light if not serious, were plagued with worry for the American he was moping for. His mouth, usually in a straight line or smirking slight, was nothing but the opposite as the frown teased his face. She saw it clear as ever, and anyone who knew him well would also see it.

Heero Yuy was, if not in love, than infatuated with a certain cute American man.

_In-ter-est-ing..._ "You know, Yuy, I'd say you were smitten if I didn't know you so well." _Yuy isn't the only one of us who knows how to do a slight manipulating of her own..._

Heero seemed to jerk to awareness with those words, only to level a frosty glare in her direction before bluntly stating, "Shut up." But he didn't deny any of it. Dorothy smothered a grin and austerely sent him a look of superiority.

"How's Chang?"

_Changing the subject, are we?_ Dorothy mused mentally, replying with a slight quark of an eyebrow, "He's fine. Just busy with his lines is all. He's upset with his part, you know, but he'll never give up the challenge." The blonde actress sighed in exaggerated distress, placing the back of her hand on her brow, closing her eyes, and throwing her head back in the classic damsel-in-distress pose. "If only I can get him away from that script..."

Heero grinned slowly. "Not getting any?"

"Getting absolutely nada."

"Poor you."

"You wouldn't know."

"Touche..." They both laughed, the tenseness in the air long dead and buried. The chatted on light things for a good hour before two more figures finally joined them at the table. With identical looks of perception the step-siblings waited for the two to seat themselves before saying anything else.

"Had fun last night?" Dorothy quipped knowingly, a twinkle in her eyes as the couple blushed pink.

"Of course they did," Heero added smoothly, a grin twiddling his lips, "I mean, wouldn't the noise from the Other Room last night give you at least some clue of their enjoyment?"

"I understood enough to know who was seme and who was uke," leered the blonde playfully.

"Be quiet, Dorothy," the blonde boy murmured softly, but grinning at his partner nonetheless. Dorothy didn't blame that grin for anything. The two made a brilliant and astounding couple. Quatre Winner, with his small frame and teal blue eyes sparkling with affection as he looked over toward his taller partner. Trowa's brown hair, styled exclusively, flopped over one emerald green eye that shined with an intelligence, and a sort of fondness for the blonde that fit into his arms perfectly.

They were, as cliche as it sounded, a match made in Heaven.

"So," Quatre quirked a curious eyebrow in the direction of Heero, "How did your admiree like his present?"

"I don't know yet," Heero admitted with a small smirk. "But I suspect I'll find out when I meet him this afternoon. Most likely he'll throw the keys at me and demand I take it back. Or something along those lines."

The other three exchanged curious looks. "Then why not just send your chauffeur after him this afternoon?" Trowa Barton asked peculiarly, his green eyes lighting up brighter than before. If there was anything that Trowa liked more than mysteries, gossip, and secrets, it--or he, as the case may be–-was Quatre.

The stubborn tilt of his chin came back with a vengeance as he gave the taller boy a flat look explicitly saying 'do not ask'. "I have my reasons." Only a few more minutes did he chat with the other three before he stood up and slipped into his coat. "I have engagements to meet, you know," Heero added with a light smirk and a toss of his moss green hair. He didn't get far before he heard a clear humming of that wedding song from the group, followed immediately by a quirky "pray for the dead and the dead will pray for you" tune coming from someone that sounded suspiciously like Dorothy.

With a grin and a smothered laugh, he went to fetch his metallic silver Formula Firebird.

----------

"Take it back."

Those three words were the first words out of Duo's mouth when he walked into the quaint café sat in front of Heero. Heero simply smiled a small, coy smile and studied the American beauty before him. Opposed to Heero's baggy jeans, Duo wore tight, form fitting, faded jeans and black baggy shirt, also opposite from the Japanese boy's tight green muscle shirt. His chestnut strands were wild around the American's face, but most of the mane was still secured in the braid behind his head.

Duo was almost glaring at him before Heero finally realized he hadn't replied to his demand. Instead, he played the innocent. "Pardon?"

"The car," Duo replied swiftly, fixing a stern look on the Japanese man. The seriousness was slowly fading, albeit not quickly enough for Heero. Instead, he tossed a grin of the devil in the American's direction before saying one word.

"No."

Instead of holding his rigid expression, the sternness quickly melted into, of all things, the most adorable little pout Heero had ever seen. He almost dropped his coffee at the utterly cuteness the other man radiated at that moment. Gulping, Heero gave the other a wide-eyed look.

"Why not?"

No one had ever told Heero, unfortunately, that Duo was the master at pouting. Many a times Duo had gotten his way with this dangerous look of a jutted lip and wide, sorrowful eyes. However, the Japanese man quickly made up for his surprise by battening down his hatches and smiling again. "I don't like taking a gift back. It's rude."

"But, Heee-eero! I can't _keep_ the car!" Duo argued adorably, crossing his arms in a childish manner and sulking prettily. "What 'm I supposed to do with the thing? It'll be stripped or stolen by tonight, just you watch!"

Heero opened his mouth the assure the boy... and promptly snapped his mouth shut. An idea was forming. Oh, yes, what a nice idea it was, too. With an easy, innocent smile born because of years of practice, he replied soothingly, "I'll make a deal with you."

If Duo had cat ears, they would have been twitching curiously at that very moment. The braided boy sat straighter in his chair, staring at Heero. "I'm listening."

"If your car lasts the night," Heero said slowly, putting an emphasis on 'your', "then you'll allow me to take you and your family out on an modest dinner and a night on the town. Deal?"

----------

_He can't possibly mean that. _Duo stared long and hard at the innocent looking Japanese man. _My God, he does mean it._ So, Duo actually considered the possibility of the Jaguar lasting through the night. The chances were, from his experience, slim to none. "Will you take the remainder of the car back? That is, if there is a remainder," he added pointedly, staring grimly at the smiling Japanese man.

"Of course," Heero replied humbly, nodding his head at his answer. "However, if the car survives this one night, you'll allow me to take you and your family out to dinner _and_ for a night on the town. Meaning that each one of your family members can buy whatever they please, and I'd gladly pay for it. If the car _doesn't_ survive, then I'll take my wounded pride and hope it'll survive where the car didn't. Deal?"

Duo thought about it. He really did. There was no chance whatsoever that the car would even outlive two hours after sundown, so there was no problem with accepting the deal. _But that innocence just can't be real. What's he got up his sleeve? _Finally, deciding to take his chance, he took Heero's hand and smirked. "Deal."

Heero nodded. "Good." Before Duo could say anything more involving the subject, Heero launched the line of conversation to a much lighter one involving politics and the economy today.

Duo listened for a while, putting his two cents every once and a while. Before he knew it the sun was beginning to set and the café had begun to become deserted. In unison the two boys stood, with Heero leaving a generous tip and paying the cashier, left the small café.

The two boys stood beside the purple Jaguar, looking silently at each other for a long while. Finally, Heero asked, "Did you think about it?"

Duo opened his mouth and hesitated before giving his answer. Of course he thought about it. After the car, it was the only thing that occupied his thoughts all morning. He had realized that only something good could come out of acting in a movie. The money alone could provide Aunt Helen's medical care, and Hilde wouldn't have to work so hard with him to pay the bills. He could even quite possibly take his GED and go to college like he had always wanted. They wouldn't have it so rough... And Solo...

"Yes," he replied softly. "I've thought a lot about it. I decided that I should take the part. I mean, it can't be that much different from acting in a play, ne? It wouldn't be so bad to have money for once..."

Heero looked searchingly into Duo's eyes. For what, Duo didn't know. He just knew how his knees practically buckled when Heero slowly smiled in something kindred to relief.

"That's great, Duo. I'm glad." There was a moment of clarity for Duo before Heero lightly pecked a small, delicate kiss on his cheek. And then, all Duo could focus on was the smell of Heero's cologne, and the feel of his velvet-like lips under his eye. It was all gone in a matter of seconds, too short a time for Duo's liking.

With glazed amethyst eyes Duo stared at Heero, a hot fire burning in his gut when the Japanese man fitted him with a small, desirable smile.

"I can't wait to work with you, Duo," he murmured lowly before turning away and walking to his Firebird.

Duo watched him drive off, staring in the direction the metallic silver car went to and holding his hand to his cheek. A smile of bliss graced his face before the American boy slid into his Jaguar and drove home.

----------

Duo was already making his way up the steps to the doorway of his apartment building when he was stopped by a particularly rough looking man. He was tall, with skin as dark as the night. He wore all black, ripped in places, and black gloves with the fingertips cut off. Hiding his nervousness when he recognized him as one of the men hanging on the apartment building steps just across the street, he turned bodily toward the man.

"Can I help you?"

The man gave him a searching gaze before a flash of white signaled a smile. "Jus' wantin' ta' know if that be yer car." He jerked his head toward the Jaguar.

Slowly, weary, Duo nodded.

"'Kay. Me an' 'da guys, y'know, we bein' paid lotta money to make sure 'dat car don't get a scratch, hear?"

His unsureness left him to be replaced by incredulity. "Say what?"

"Yeah. 'Dis guy came ta us las' night, see, and he promises us t'o hunnerd dollahs each 'f we make sure nutin' happens ta it, see? T'o hunnerd dollahs a week, man." With that, the ruffian left to join his buddies across the street.

Duo stood on the doorstep, staring disbelievingly at his Jaguar, and then the gang across the street. With a hoarse laugh he turned around and slapped his forehead.

"Yuy, you manipulating son of a rich man's dog..." With a heavy sigh, he went inside to tell his family of the outing they were to have tomorrow.

----------

"I bet he appreciated that, didn't he?" Dorothy laughed once Heero told her what he did.

Heero shrugged. "I didn't tell him."

"I'm sure he'll find out one way or another. And I'm also very sure he won't be happy."

"Probably not."

There was a long pause from the girl."... So you aren't going to mention it to him?"

"Nope."

Dorothy laughed louder.

----------  
**_OWARI Chapter Four  
_**----------

Don't be a cow. Review! Pretty please?


	6. Chapter Five

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, now to include little facts involving the fic. Hilde is portrayed as an older woman; she has a seven-year-old son and she's twenty-one. Do the math and you'll find she was only fourteen when she had Solo, but all will be explained in later chapters. Heero is twenty, and Duo is almost nineteen. Were Duo's mother alive, she'd be thirty-nine, and Helen is sixty-two, but looks young for her age despite her being sick. Ne?**

**A.N. as of 8-01-05: Heero's hair isn't green. "Moss green" is a particular shade of brown that some of my favorite GW authors used to describe Heero's hair being -in fact, hairstylists typically refer to Heero's shade of brown as being moss green. The particular term always stuck with me, and I fell into a habit of using it occasionally. I'm very sorry for the confusion though!**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**__**Capricious Purple Clarity  
**__**Chapter Five**_

* * *

"What about this one?"

"The one in the green bottle?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, like I said, it depends on your body chemicals. That one tends to dry me out, but it could work wonders for you. Still..." Duo picked up a different bottle, showing it to the cautious older woman with a cheeky smile. "My gut instinct tells me this brand will work wonders for you. It's also much cheaper."

"Yes, but... I heard cheap shampoo isn't really great on your hair," she said, dubiously studying the bigger, cheaper blue bottle to the smaller, more costly green one.

"Pfft!" Duo waved it off, grabbing his braid and unconsciously stroking the chestnut locks. "I couldn't afford that mess. I love my hair, but I can't afford to pamper it with the 'better' stuff when my brand works wonders... with my hair AND my wallet."

"Really?" The older woman sounded surprised, eyeing the long, healthy braid with much desire and astonishment. "But you have _beautiful_ hair!"

"And I use possibly the most inexpensive brand of shampoo here. That 'the pricier, the better' myth is just that: a myth." Duo leaned in closer. "Tell you what, miss. You try this bottle and see how good it is for you. If you come back unsatisfied with the way it turned out, then I'll buy you the brand you wanted. Okay?"

"I couldn't possibly do that! You told me yourself that you couldn't afford something like this!"

"Hey, trust me. This is how strong of a gut feeling I have, ne?"

"Well... Okay." With a small smile she placed the item in her buggy. "Thank you."

"No, no. Thank _you_!" With an exaggerated bow that brought a laugh to the woman's lips, Duo smiled and waved good-bye as she wheeled away.

"Squirt, you keep showing customers those saving tricks of yours and I'll be out of business by the end of the year!" A high, feminine voice complained playfully, filled with laughter and appreciation. With a skip Duo whirled, facing a tall, beautiful young woman with high cheek bones and a tanned complexion. She was leaning against a store case display, smiling ruefully as she combed her finger through her long bangs.

"Sure, Carla-boss lady-ma'am," Duo saluted, bringing the other woman's facetiously stern face cracking into a grin. "Is there anything in specific you came to talk to me about, or is this just a social chitchat?"

"Chitchat sounds fun, but alas, I came to gossip."

"To gossip? You? Nooo..." It was a known fact to everyone who worked at the Kwiki Shop that the owner–-one Carla Blake–-was conceivably the biggest gossip hound in the area. So when one Duo Maxwell decided to tease her about the title, she simply blew a raspberry and flicked her thumb at him.

"Uh-uh-uuuh! Naughty, naughty, naughty little Maxie-poo!" Coming in closer, a gleam in her greenish blue eyes, she whispered, "You, my dear, dear darling honey, have been keeping secrets."

_Insert cerebral groan here,_ Duo quipped mentally, all the while fixing the taller woman with something of an innocent blink and thoughtful wrinkle of his brow. "I don't understand..." It was bound to be found out, and she would be the first to really hear about it. Duo knew this, but pretending to be a totally loss was fun.

"You scoundrel! I hear you fell off a bridge or something," she went on. "Some cute guy saved you or something, I heard. Is he single?"

Duo blinked, this time in real disorder. He never even thought of the question! _My God... what if he?..._ What if he wasn't single? What if he had this beautiful girl waiting for him at home and he was off chasing a poor American kid he felt sorry for? That would most likely break up a perfect union between soul mates and it would be all his fault!

Let it be known that Duo Maxwell has THE worst reasoning in the history of man. He is also, unbeknownst to himself, a closet pessimist.

"Umm..."

"Oh, wait! Me and my big mouth!" Carla smacked her own forehead. "This is Heero Yuy we're talking about. Did I mention that I found out that your hero is Heero Yuy, possibly the most gorgeous actor alive? Did I? Well, he is! Anyway, he's never got a girl or guy hanging on his arm in the tabloids or anything, so I bet he's single. But anyway, did you get his autograph?"

Duo stared at the older woman blankly for more than a few seconds before bluntly stating, "Why would I?" Carla looked shocked, and eyed the boy with more than the tiniest incertitude.

"You're joking." Duo shook his head, his braid whipping to and fro. "You've got to be pulling my leg." Again Duo shook his head, wondering where the current conversation was going. Carla stayed calm. Really she did.

For about five seconds. Then she exploded, "Why _wouldn't_ you?"

"Erk..."

"I mean, he's _only_ the hottest honey of Hollywood! He's _only_ the most available bachelor in the U.S.! He's _only_ the most untouchable person anyone could ever run into! And you tell me you didn't get his _autograph_!"

"Well..." Duo finally figured he had the upper hand. With a smirk, and a small wave of his hand toward the exit of the store, he asked, "Did you see what I drove to work today?"

Silence reigned for but a few seconds before Carla replied guardedly, "Yeah..."

"Do you know who gave it to me?"

Her eyes went wide. "He didn't..."

"He sure did. The cocky son of a gun wouldn't take it back either," he added ruefully. "Do you have any idea how he bribed me into keeping that car? He made something of an innocent wager, see, and..." So he went on to explain to his boss just how he ended up with an expensive car that survived a night in his neighbor due to the help of some 'neighborly' gang members being paid two hundred dollars a week by a mysterious donor. By the time the braided store clerk's story was completely done–-from the morning he found the car at his doorstep to the fit he threw when he stomped back into his apartment later that day–-he was irate and very, _very_ touchy.

"Ooohhh, when I get a hold of his neck when we're alone, I'm gonna jump all over his ass!" Carla raised an eyebrow, and Duo found it impossible not to blush. In all his time working for her, he'd never even _uttered_ profanity. Now it seemed all that non-foul mouthedism was all leaving him, and things other teenagers said when no respected adults were around was gaining on him with a vengeance...

_It's all Yuy's fault_, Duo pouted.

"Are you sure it'll be mine getting jumped?"

"Gah!" Duo jumped when the voice registered in his mind under the category 'nasal+smoothHeero'. Blushing crimson, the braided boy whirled to face the handsome man standing behind him.

Heero grinned.

----------

"Are you sure it'll be mine getting jumped?" Heero's grin widened further when he noted the American beauty jerk to attention and twirl to face him, reddening face and all. He'd been standing behind the American through his whole tirade of complaining and slight whining, all the while feeling his insides convulse as one when laughter became too much to bear. The woman he was talking too–-his boss, Heero supposed–-had noticed him milliseconds before he even opened his mouth. Her jaw had neatly dropped open in quiet surprise, though it snapped shut with a slight 'click' between her teeth.

Amused by Duo's sudden lack of anything to say, Heero held out a bag. "Nuts?"

That seemed to snap Duo's automatic response awake. "You aren't supposed to eat in the store."

"The cashier said it was okay."

"She was probably floored by your greatness, oh Endowed Lord of Mine," Duo quipped finally, placing a green bottle he'd been throttling back on the shelf.

Heero raised an eyebrow suggestively before replying, "In more ways than one..."

"Eep!" Duo slapped both hands over his mouth and looked around to see if that comment drew any attention. Breathing a sigh of relief when he espied everyone was too busy to even note the Japanese actor, he let both hands drop and tried to mentally kill his blush. "Don't say things like that..."

"Like what?" The Yuy Blink of Total Innocence didn't affect Duo in any way. So, he changed the subject to what he thought was safer ground. "So how's the car?"

"Purrs like a kitten, I'm sure," Duo mumbled, stroking his braid as was habit. Heero watched those hands for a while before hearing Duo make a noise deep in his throat. "For goodness sake, Yuy, give Carla her autograph so she'll go away."

The older woman stopped in her drooling to look at her employee as if he were crazy. "You mean he doesn't give out cars?" Switching her look from Duo to Heero and back again, she suddenly got the picture. With a twinkle in her eye and a grin on her lips, she grabbed a random magazine and pulled out her permanent marker, handing them both to Heero.

Heero smiled charmingly. "Your name is Carla, right?" She nodded, the twinkle still in her eyes as she jerked her head just the slightest toward her worker and winked at him.

'Go for it!' she mouthed. After a moment he merely gave a secret wink of his own and signed the magazine that just so happened to have his picture on the front. Go figure.

Once Duo's boss was out of hearing range, Duo finally turned his attention back on Heero with narrowed, stern violet eyes.

"What's this I hear about someone paying the gang 'cross the street two hundred dollars a week to make sure my car pulls through?"

_Oops._ "That was never mentioned in the game," Heero murmured smoothly, reaching into his bag and grabbing a handful of salted cashews. "Can I help it if outside forces prevent other outside forces from taking your car?" Innocent Blink #334 was enacted during this moment.

"Nymph," Duo muttered moodily, walking passed the actor to straighten an item on the shelf. Heero smiled softly and followed.

"Bisheinen."

"Look who's talkin', pal."

"That wasn't an insult."

"Good for me, then."

Heero wasn't used to this sort of playful arguing. He found it very, very relaxing and very, very fun. With a slow, measured movement he was beside the braided bisheinen, standing at least three inches taller than him. Unthinkingly the shorter of the two looked up to meet the gaze of the taller, words at the edge of his tongue as he opened his mouth to speak–-

That is, until Heero covered the braided American's mouth with his own. Shockingly aware of the sensuality in the actor's small kiss–-a kiss that literally took his breath away and left him weak at the knees–-Duo barely noticed people as they stopped to stare at the sight before moving on as if nothing happened. Those days, two people of the same sex kissing in public were the norm, especially in big cities.

No one had ever kissed him as softly and as deeply as Heero did. No one had swept him off his feet as Heero did. As the Japanese boy's lips parted from his own, the braided boy fought the butterflies flittering around in his stomach and trying to smother the wild beating of his heart. Dazedly he stared at the actor, blinking owlishly.

"What was..." He paused to clear the hoarseness from his throat, feeling a wave of desire wash over him in that instant. Faintly, he asked softly, "What was that for?"

The actor didn't reply for a moment. Finally, he uttered, "I just felt like it."

"Aa..." For a while the two were quiet, staring deeply into each other's eyes. Prussian blues met amethyst hues, each exploring, in their own ways, the possibilities and the reasons for a kiss as sweet as the one shared between them. Duo had never felt more evaluated. Heero had never felt more alive.

"When do you get off work?"

The question was so sudden, Duo had to blink and ask him to repeat it. When Heero did, he replied dutifully, "I get off at four o'clock..."

"I'll pick you and your family up at five, ne? They won't have to dress nice, though. It'll be taken care of." Placing a palm against Duo's cheek, he hovered in and planted a sweet brush of his lips against his forehead, turned, and left without another word.

Carla had to leave her eager perch from the security room, having been watching eagerly with three others in the room through one of the many security cameras placed throughout the store, to snap Duo out of his trance.

----------

Heero knocked on the chipped wood of the ghastly pale green door three hours later, a wistful, quirky smile still on his lips as it had been for the better part of the day. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately; smiling, that was. With even the smallest thought of Duo, his mouth would just involuntarily turn upwards. The American's pouty expression made him smile, his sparkling playful amethyst eyes caused him to almost laugh. The sternest gesture gave Heero a giddiness he could barely understand himself.

What was this feeling he had for the American? He hadn't felt so truly happy for years, ever since his mother died in that terrible accident five years ago...

"Mr. Hero!" Heero shook his head softly, snapping himself from his thoughtful musing to look at the boy standing in front of the door. Solo looked happy, his eyes looking so much like Duo's in that moment. With a steady beam, the boy grabbed Heero's hand and pulled the older man in.

"Hey, Mr. Hero!" he chirped again. "Sorry Uncle Duo didn't answer the door. He's dancin' with Momma in the kitchen, an' Aunt Hel–-I mean, _Grandma_ is still in her room."

Heero raised an eyebrow, listening to the music leaking from the kitchen. It was upbeat rap, sounding only vaguely familiar to him. To Solo, he said, "I see. Did your uncle Duo expect me?"

"Uh-huh!" Solo nodded quickly. "Uncle Duo's been like 'I can't find my black shirt' and 'Where the hell are my good jeans?' and stuff. 'S been all over the place like a chicken wit' his head cut off or somethin'!"

Heero chuckled, amused by the child's account of his cousin. "Oh, okay. Well, let's go see what your mom and uncle are up to, shall we?"

Heero took this time to look around the apartment as they made their short journey to the kitchen. The outside may have looked rugged, but the inside was a cozy little place. The furniture was well-worn, but well kept, and the painted vases had fresh cut flowers in them. Still, to Heero, it was no place for a family to live considering the neighborhood and the state of the building, but if it weren't for those two things, he wouldn't worry so about Duo and his family.

In the kitchen, a quaint little place that also made up the dining room, someone was already standing near the doorway. Standing behind the slightly older woman, both Heero and Solo watched in delight–-for two totally different reasons–-the exquisite lithe figure writhe to the music coming from the old radio in the corner.

_Beautiful,_ Heero thought absently, comparing Duo's grace to that of the best dancers he'd ever seen. Duo was absolutely the best.

Slowly, eyes closed, Duo rolled his body with his arms held above his head, and he flowed right into another elegant dance. Heero watched eagerly, soaking in the tune and beat of the music and the movements of the braided fellow. He was entranced with the beauty, feeling every positive emotion welling inside him with a vengeance.

He was... simply beautiful.

The chorus began to repeat and fade, and the lithe figure with flexible hips began to slow in his enchanting dance. When the song ended completely, his eyes snapped open when three different clapping hands broke the silence of the apartment.

When his flushed eyes met Heero's, he turned red and looked away quickly.

"You're Heero, right?" the woman beside him asked with a smile. She had hair the same color as Solo's, and the same features as the young boy's. Even with her apparent youth, Heero suspected this woman to be the younger boy's mother.

He nodded, holding out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Heero Yuy. Nice to meet you."

She took his hand in a firm grip, smiling widely as her eyes flickered to the braided boy standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen. "Nice to meet you. I'm Hilde, Duo's cousin." Kneeling, she smiled at her son. "Honey, go see if Grandma's ready, okay? Momma, Uncle Duo, and Mr. Yuy are fixin' to talk grown-up stuff."

The young boy's nose wrinkled, and he immediately zipped off to his grandmother's room.

----------

"So what's on the agenda?" Duo was still blushing when he slid into the impressive limousine, disconcerted from the episode in the kitchen not ten minutes earlier. He had a habit of doing that when his nerves were standing on ends. Dancing used to be a favorite hobby when he had the time, though since Aunt Helen became sick he wasn't able to dance for enjoyment anymore. Seldom did he have the time like he used to.

And Heero saw him. The look in Heero's eyes when the American found them was absolutely raw and priceless. Merriment, amusement, and desire all mixed into one.

Solo wowed and admired the insides of the car, meddling in everything he could get his hands on. The cooler where the drinks were kept, the cell phone, the T.V... None of these were safe from the tinkering of the seven-year-old. Hilde tried to keep him from touching much, but Heero just waved it off and told the boy he could plunder anything he wanted.

"First, like I promised," Heero replied when the limo began its journey, "we're going to go to this nice Italian place my step-sister recommended. It isn't a black tie place, from what she's told me, and usually everyone that eats there dresses pretty casual. Then, if the ladies feel up to it, we'll stop by the mall and pillage the goods."

Duo snorted. Of course the ladies would feel up to it. They hadn't been able to browse in a while, and even Aunt Helen perked at the mention of a mall. Hilde backhanded his stomach gently, and he let out a simple grunt and sent a playful glare her way.

Solo, who had been switching through the channels rapidly ("Look, Momma! It picks up millions of channels!") , stopped on an action movie and giggled gleefully.

"Mr. Hero, it's you!"

Reflexively, Heero glanced at the screen. "_Mission Accepted_. That was one of my better movies."

"You do a lot of action movies?" Aunt Helen asked politely.

"Yes, ma'am. My agent believes I'm better in the roles of heros who love guns and explosions. It's no different in the movie Duo will be acting in, except this one will also focus a little more on a romantic level."

Duo shifted in his seat so he'd be looking at Heero. "Did Howard get back to you about that contract?"

"He wants you to sign it as soon as you can. He's afraid you'll change your mind, for some reason." Heero shrugged. "He's very annoying, but he's also very paranoid. He doesn't want another actor pulling their contract, so he's making sure everyone is renewing their own agreements."

They made idle talk involving the movie, getting as many facts as they possibly could of the movie while Solo and Duo watched the action film with rapt attention. So rapt that Duo didn't note the road they turned down or the restaurant the unknown driver pulled up to.

With the television off and the door opened, the family of four and the actor filed out of the limo. When Duo gained his bearings, he gulped as he gaped at the neon sign proclaiming the name of the restaurant in bright green, graceful letters.

"_Fortunado's_," Duo whispered numbingly. It was the place he was fired from the day he fell off the bridge.

* * *

_**OWARI Chapter Five**_

Review please!


	7. Chapter Six

**This chap happens to be SLIGHTLY hurried, so I haven't really had time to go back over it with a fine-toothed comb. I need to get some actual sleep if I hope to pass my test tomorrow. Hell, I need to at least get a few hours of beddy-bye if I hope to WAKE UP tomorrow...**

**AN as of 08-03-05: Little known fact - the correct term for a beautiful boy is "bishounen." HOWEVER, that's addressing a beautiful boy under the age of sixteen. Duo's is nineteen in this fic, and is therefore "bisheinen" -a beautiful boy over the age of sixteen. Sorry. :sheepish grin: I didn't think to mark that in the last chapter.**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Chapter Six_**

* * *

In the attractive alcove leading to the dining area, Duo absently studied the painted walls as they walked toward the lighted end of the hall. The painting wasn't too awful to say the least. Greens and blues combined in a beauteous array, forming a wonderfully done hallway with a country riverside look.

In the main dining area, the place was done similarly, if not less so than the alcove. Plants adorned the place, well-placed to give the restaurant a flourishing look. Golden chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling, lit with dim bulbs made to look like real candles. At the tables, wealthy-looking people sat chatting amiably with guests, dressed casually.

"It's beautiful," Hilde said softly, staring at one of the more exotic plants and marveling the unique, natural bluish color. "For a casual, modestly-priced place, this place is exquisitely decorated."

_Modestly-priced? To Heero, maybe..._ Duo thought grumpily, crossing his arms and fixing the older man with a stern look that he didn't notice. The fact he was in his old workplace was not that far from his mind, but once the idea of Heero paying for five meals that would cost a small fortune had shoved it farther away from his main view. He knew exactly how much a meal cost at _Fortunado's_. More than he made with three paychecks from his job as a store clerk.

"Chin up, Duo," Hilde teased, placing a long finger under her cousin's chin and tilting it from his pre-pouting position. He saw a flash of baby blues under her purple bangs before she moved away from him again, a small smile on her mouth. "You look like someone is going to take you out back and shoot you any minute now."

"He wouldn't do _that_... His wife, though..."

Heero's eyes snapped into his direction, having heard that comment loud and clear where Hilde, Solo, and Helen missed it totally. With a flush he bowed his head, allowing his bangs to obscure his face in hopes of keeping his reddened cheeks from his sight.

Hoo-boy...

----------

Something was definitely wrong with Duo. As soon as the group had walked through the elegant doors, the braided American had become timid, ready to bolt at any second. Where the spark of curiosity and the flare of stubbornly burning fire smoldered was something akin to the look of dread and reluctance.

The fact Duo gave Heero thinly veiled glares every once in a while didn't escape his notice, either.

Making sure the family was well-occupied with admiring the excellence of the lovely restaurant, Heero moved to Duo's side with open concern.

"Duo..." Heero paused, watching as Duo frantically jerked bodily toward Heero. It wasn't the fact that Heero had surprised him, he knew; it was because two waitresses chatting had just passed, and one of them had looked in their direction. With a calming smile the woman signaled that she would seat them in a minute and parted from the other, heading for the backroom.

"Would you rather go somewhere else?" Heero finally asked, looking down at the shorter boy.

"Why do you ask that?" Duo quipped, a spark of defiance taking its usual claim in his smoldering violet gaze. "You wanted a modest dinner, and this is about as 'modest' as it gets, ne?" Rolling his eyes, the braided American gave him a knowing look. "Please, Heero. I'd have known this place would most likely burn my checkbook to ash even if I was born yesterday."

"You disapprove." It was more of a statement than a question, his Prussian eyes studying the American intently. With a small sigh the stiffness left his shoulders as he slumped, glancing in the direction of his family before turning purple eyes back on him.

"Yes and no. I don't like the fact that you're spending all this money on me and my family, but... I appreciate what you're doing for my family, what with taking them to this place and all." Shoving his hands in his jacket pocket, Duo added in a mumble, "Something I could never do for them, even if I tried..."

"Soon you'll have enough money to do this at your leisure," Heero reminded him gently, hesitantly placing a hand on the petite man's shoulder. "If you want... I'll allow you to attempt to pay me back. I can't guarantee that I'll take it, but you can try."

Duo laughed aloud, covering his mouth with one hand. "You conceited jerk!" With a playful push against Heero's ribs, Duo began laughing again, the sound like the chiming of small, tinkering bells. Some patrons close by, both male and female, paused in whatever conversation they were indulging to look for the person belonging to the beautiful laugh. Heero simply stood, momentarily stupefied, as he watched the mirth play across Duo's face before dying down to roiling chuckles. Snapping out of it, he held back the urge to reach over and kiss those parted pilgrims called lips.

The insult slid off of him. "I'm only speaking the truth."

"That's the funny part," Duo replied easily, grinning up at him, his head tilting to the side slightly. "Why?"

"Why?..." Heero blinked, perplexed at the meaning of Duo's question.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Softly sighing, the smile on the violet-eyed angel's turned wistful. "At first I thought Howard asked you to butter me up so I'd take the part... but you keep doing the damned sweetest things that make me want to both thank you and hit you... Why?"

It was a question he couldn't answer to even himself. Why did he? He couldn't understand. He'd never treated someone like Duo. He'd never worried about anyone other than Dorothy and Duo. It seemed that ever since that day on the bridge... he just couldn't stop thinking about him. He had frequently wondered if Duo was eating right, or if Duo might have fallen down those steps to his apartment, or if some cruel person set the apartment building on fire...

He answered Duo truthfully. "I don't know." He paused, searching for the right words. "I... Duo, you are the most amazing person I've ever..." He paused, again, this time realization dawning. Duo was the most amazing person he ever had the chance to meet. His innocent smile sometimes polluted with sadness, his violet gaze burning with inner fire, his lithe frame, petite form, sparkling personality... Duo was an angel from Heaven to his dark world of ignorant parents and fanatical fans. He kept the hurtful self-thoughts at bay, and one smile could melt Heero's resolve... Duo was... Duo was...

"I can't explain it, Duo," Heero murmured softly, this time allowing himself to reach forward and caress his cheek softly. Duo leaned toward the body heat, closing his amethyst eyes and moaning softly and quietly. "Just trust me when I say... that at this moment, my world has centered around you. You're like this... I'm sorry, I just can't explain that well. I refuse to deny that I'm attracted to you in a physical manner," Duo flushed and averted his face by tilting his face downward... but never allowing his face to lose contact with Heero's larger hand, "but I'm also attracted to your personality and how your inner beauty matches your outer beauty. You're a wonderful, caring person and I..." _I adore him for it._ Yes, adore. It was the strongest word he could even think to use so close to his first meeting of Duo Maxwell. Adoration... closely bordering and tittering toward love...

Love.

He was falling in love.

He was falling in love with Duo.

"Yuy, party of five?" the waitress finally chimed out, diverting Duo's attention momentarily from Heero's eyes. He never saw the brief flash of realization before it was firmly hidden from sight and replaced by something else.

Determination.

----------

It was night in the home shared between five great friends that happened to be five of the most popular actors on the big screen. Chang Wufei looked around the darkened kitchen silently, confused. There was always at least one person in the kitchen snacking or keeping another company. However, the large, well-stocked room was completely empty.

_Trowa and Quatre are upstairs doing their... 'nightly rituals'_, Wufei thought wryly, grinning in the darkness of the hallway. _Dorothy is just coming in from the pool... Where's Heero?_ The Japanese actor was usually always home on a Friday night. He _never_ dated.

He stopped his lover before she made her way to change from her bathing suit. "Where's your brother?"

She smirked ferally. It was a smirk that Wufei well-enough recognized. _She knows something Heero won't realize about himself unless he thinks real hard._

"He's out realizing he's falling madly in love with an American boy who, by the way, is replacing Mags in our little project together. Now." She gave him a heated look. "Why don't you come upstairs and help me out of this bikini? You've been shut in the guest room for a better part of the week memorizing your lines, you've probably forgotten all about the warmth given to a man by a woman..."

All thoughts of Heero falling in love flew out the window the second Wufei took his first step toward his goal. Let the poor sod find out his own love problems. He had some major kissing up to do.

----------

Duo had never had a chance to sample any of the food when he worked for the owner of the Italian restaurant. Sure, he'd cooked plenty of it in his time, but that had nothing to do with the fact he never sampled it himself. He never had the material to cook like so at his home, but his customers usually commented about how good it was.

Duo found that he _really_ liked Italian food other than spaghetti. Half of his chicken con broccoli was well on its way into his digestive system when he started to feel very full.

"Heeeero!"

A fork-full of cupped pasta lingered in mid-air, his mouth open to accept the delicious morsel. Instead of gulping it down as he normally would have, he turned his head to the side ever so slightly to glance at the owner of the shrill yell.

Heero simply leaned back into his chair after putting his fork down, stuck between a smirk of amusement and a frown of disapproval.

A beautiful wheat-blonde stood beside their table, smiling brilliantly at the assembled family with the star. Her cornflower blue eyes missed nothing, even lingering on Duo for a second before moving onto Hilde and loitering even longer. With a final, slow grin she turned her eyes back to the Japanese man.

"You know I hate it when you do that."

"Hai," she said airily, accepting Heero's hand and shaking firmly. "How's everyone?"

"Dorothy's fine." Heero finally let the frown die into a smirk before turning his Prussian blue eyes from the new woman's moody expression. "May I introduce Relena Peacecraft. Duo, she'll be playing the opposing role from you."

Duo nodded, smiling meekly once the woman turned her gaze back to him. "Hello."

"Hi," she bubbled sweetly, admiring the picture. "Oooh, Hee-chan! Your boy would make a lesbian go straight if she ever thought she had a chance!"

Hilde and Helen both respectively hid behind their napkins. Hilde because she was busy choking on the veal lodged in her throat, and Helen because she was hiding a laugh. Duo ended up sinking low in his chair with a delicate blush splashing his pale cheeks.

_How embarrassing,_ he thought miserably.

Heero just snorted. "As you can already figure, she's an airhead and she talks before thinking. Relena, this is Duo Maxwell, his aunt Helen, his cousin Hilde and her son Solo." The wheat-blonde actress took the time to nod a respective hello to each, but she especially gave Hilde a hidden wink before turning her attention back to Heero. Not hidden enough for Duo to miss, however. Nor Hilde.

"Well, I really do hate to visit and run, but I have an appointment to keep. It was nice to meet you and your family, Duo. I hope we become good friends as the movie plays along. Good-bye, Helen. Bye, Solo." With a large, sensuous grin, she stared at the blushing Hilde. "I hope to see you soon... Hilde."

When the wheat-blonde was well away from the table, Duo couldn't help it. He crowed with laughter and slapped his flushed cousin on the shoulder. "Coz got a girlfriend, coz got a girlfriend!"

"I'm really sorry about that," Heero apologized, though there was also a faint smile on his lips. "Relena usually lets someone know she's interested, and she's really picky about her women. She had a crush on Doro-chan for the longest time, but it faded."

"Oh, it's really all right," she said softly, stirring her angel hair pasta leisurely while keeping her eyes on the bread sticks. "It's just, nobody has done something so outrageous like that after they find out I have a son." Her eyes twitched to Solo, who was too busy wrestling with his pizza to notice. With a sad smile, she said, "It was a nice change of pace."

There was an uncomfortable, stale hesitation lingering in the air as Heero merely frowned at the odd statement, yet saying nothing to encourage further discussion. Chitchat would have gone on as planned if it wasn't for a small detail in the form of a young child with reddish hair and strange, forked eyebrows dragging her equally amused blonde aristocratic father toward the familiar figure they knew as Duo Maxwell.

"Mr. Duo!"

Duo jumped in his seat, all of a sudden becoming a bit paranoid as his violet eyes flew to the child, than to the child's father, and then to search out another, although luckily absent figure. With a sigh of relief, Duo smiled at the child and her father.

"Hey, Mariemaia. Mr. Khushrenada." He nodded toward both, though nervousness entered those amethyst orbs again. "Lady Anne isn't here?..."

"Nor is Une, Duo," chortled the man only known as Khushrenada. He was a very tall, wealthy-looking man, set blue eyes and mild mannerisms his best known features other than the strange forked eyebrows that his daughter seemed to inherit that decorated his brow. "It's good to see you again. You seem to keep..." Those blue eyes landed on Heero and he smiled slyly, "better company these days."

"You mean Mark?" Duo asked softly, a sad smile on his face. "Ah, well. You _know_ I was never interested in him."

"Oh, of course."

"Duo? You know this man?" Hilde asked politely, finding the perfect place to interrupt.

"Yeah, I do. I kinda worked here until I had to turn in my resignation." Duo flushed pink, turning his eyes downcast. "This is the owner of the restaurant, Mr. Trieze Khushrenada and his daughter Mariemaia. Lady Anne is Trieze's wife, for clarification."

"'Had'? When did you turn it in, and why?" Helen asked softly, confused. Duo rarely ever gave up on something unless something prevented him from doing his work at his best.

"Oh, well..." Duo shrugged, fidgeting with his braid. "Lady Anne doesn't like me all too much. She can't stand being in the same room with me, in fact. It's not that I did anything in particular to piss her off, it's just that Une has a thing for young men with long hair. Usually what or who Une likes, Anne won't stand for."

"And Une is?..."

"My poor wife's multiple personality," Trieze put in, placing a hand on top of his daughter's head. "Duo decided in order to keep trouble from brewing, he'd turn in his resignation. I declined it. I fired him instead."

Everyone but Duo (Solo, too; even HE knew what this meant) blinked. "What!"

"Relax!" Duo laughed. "He insisted that this way, I can draw money from him for six weeks as law. He believed it would have given me long enough to find another job." Fondly hugging the little girl, he added, "I tried to refuse, but Trieze is too persistent for my own good."

"It's the least I can do for the trouble my wife's other caused you," the older man replied smoothly. "If it weren't for her come ons whenever she visited the restaurant, you would have never been put in such an uncomfortable situation. The cooks in back and some of your regulars are still complaining over your recent situation, Duo."

Heero nodded. "I see," when he really didn't. Duo could tell from the curiosity lingering under his smoldering Prussian eyes.

"Tell them to expect to see me soon," Duo grinned cheekily, holding up a victory sign. "I got my biggest break yet!"

"Oh, Mr. Duo," Mariemaia bubbled happily, "you'll come by and show us, won't you? I'm sure Momma won't mind!"

"Sure thing, Marie!"

Trieze nodded at the assembled group. "We need to be going. It was a pleasure meeting you again, Duo, and it's nice to see that your tastes are improving." He grinned unruly as he eyed Heero. "I do believe Anne is a truly big fan of yours, Mr. Yuy."

"Send her my best wishes," Heero replied automatically, still smarting over the unfairness of Duo's condition with the woman. Deciding it was all for the best, he nodded his farewell.

----------

"You're curious, aren't you?"

Heero didn't hesitate in nodding. They were walking toward the nearest mall, deciding to take a slower pace than the three in the limo. The night air, despite being in the city, was cool and crisp, and the sky was cloudless. He could just imagine the individual twinkling stars in the sky as it had been near Kyoto ten years ago, spending the summer with his elderly grandfather at the lonely shrine...

"Let's just say that were it not for her accident when she was fourteen, Hilde would be _very_ interested in Ms. Peacecraft's offers."

The Japanese boy paused in mid-step, but kept his pace after the slight stagger. "I don't understand. Solo–-"

"Is the result of the accident," Duo interrupted quickly, sucking in his breath and looking dispirited. "Aunt Helen has been sick for a very long time. Before I came to live with them, Hilde had gone out one night to go grocery shopping. She hadn't the time during the day, and she thought it wouldn't be too bad at night."

Heero's eyes widen. The family lived a terrible neighbor, a violent part of the city. Going out at night and coming through a place as such was bound to have horrendous results... "She... Oh, Kami-sama..."

"Yes... We don't usually talk about it, and I don't like letting people know. But I just wanted you to relay the story to Ms. Peacecraft. I don't want Hilde hurt, especially if she decides she likes Relena. Heero, promise me..."

"I'll tell Relena. I promise." Heero took Duo's hand and squeezed in comfort, seeing the distress deep in his violet orbs. "Don't worry, koibito. Relena will treat Hilde like a princess if she ever decided she's interested. She'll be nothing if not courteous and caring. I know Relena." Almost distantly, he added, "Everything will be fine."

Duo laughed meekly, leaning against Heero's shoulder. "Koibito?" came his humored inquiry.

"Itooshi."

"Aa. Sou ka." Grinning widely, his mourning for his cousin not forgotten, but shuffled in the back of his mind, he snuggled into the Japanese man's arm, breathing in the scent of a personal smell and a sweet whiff of cologne.

Yes. Everything would be fine...

_**----------  
OWARI Chapter Six  
----------**_

**I don't know if that 'law' thing is still law anymore (it was down here some years ago, I think). But if it isn't, it is in the story.**

**Relena- an excuse to make her nice in at least ONE of my fics. Usually I'm into the die-hard Relena bashing scene. :grins:**

**Hilde- yes, she was raped at an early age. :shrivels: Sorry, sorry! I'm just trying to have some background romance and stuff. I thought it was a pretty good idea at the time...**

**Forgive me for any misspellings and mispronunciations. Also, if a Japanese word is used or spelled wrong, I'm truly very sorry. Thank you for reading, and reviews are very welcome!**


	8. Chapter Seven

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Chapter Seven_**

* * *

****

It didn't take long for Duo and Heero to come upon the mall entrance, excitement already thrumming through the braided American's veins at even the thought of stepping into a mall after so long. He'd never had the chance before; either he was broke or too busy working to even think about a mall. Yet this mall...

This mall was _huge_. Over three layers of stores upon stores, some big enough to own sections on all three layers. Already ahead they could see Solo dragging Hilde into this humongous toy store to just 'look around'. Hilde let herself be dragged with a content little smile on her face, though a warning in her tone when she reminded her son they couldn't afford the whole store.

Aunt Helen stood off to the side, though she wasn't looking at the mother and son almost speeding toward the toy store. In the center of the mall, a large ice rink filled with figure skaters of all kinds drew her attention away from her daughter and grandson. She watched wistfully as a girl in a tight fitted, glittering outfit twirled on the ice, faster and faster until she broke off with a graceful twirl and leap.

"Coz used to skate in that rink for fun before she got sick," Duo told Heero quietly, watching his aunt silently. "I knew she missed skating a lot. You think she'd be okay if we managed to drag her out there?"

Heero suddenly grinned. "I'm sure she'll be fine. _And_ happy," he admitted, and turned his Prussian blue eyes on the shorter, amethyst-eyed boy in amused wonder. "But can _you_ skate?"

Duo did not like the smugness beneath those warm orbs. Huffing, he crossed his arms and held his nose high in the air. "It's roller skating on ice. How hard can it be?"

"C'mon, then," Heero invited teasingly. "Let's see if you can handle it, Duo-chan." He was already walking toward Helen, who was still staring fondly out into the rink, and he prepared to convince the older woman to join them.

Meanwhile, Duo's jaw dropped open incredulously./He just didn't.../ "'Chan'? You did not just call me Duo-chan!" He ran to catch up. "Heeeero! That's how girls address other girls!"

"Really?" Heero stopped in his tracks, turning to face Duo and give him a mock surprised expression of wonderment. "I never knew... Guess I'll have to brush up on my Japanese, won't I, Duo-chan?" Laughing, he whirled back around to jog the rest of the distance, Duo hot on his heels and ready to beat the snot out of him as he so colorfully explained.

Before either boy knew it, they had Helen professionally lacing up her ice skates while Duo frowned down at his worn out ones. Heero slowly took his time, trying his best to disengage the shoelaces the previous user so generously tangled for him.

"Two of the hook things are missing on one side," Duo complained finally, dropping his laces and crossing his arms with a pouty expression. Helen laughed gently while Heero affectionately called him a whiny baby, teasing him further as Helen kneeled down to fix the problem Duo was having.

"There," she exclaimed finally, standing up straight and brushing her knees off. "All better. Now let's see if your aunty Helen can still do this..." She walked on the protected floor, reaching the doorway to the rink and pausing. "Are you boys coming?"

Heero turned toward Duo and smirked. "After you."

Grumbling, the braided American slowly stood up in his skates and took a step forward. Frowning and nervously gulping, he flinched before meeting Heero's gaze. "I think I'll stay out here," he mumbled, feeling red spots of embarrassment flooding his pale cheeks. He knew how to roller skate decently; he could do so well enough that he was able to skate around and not fall flat on his face. But the ice skates he was wearing at that moment was telling him an entirely different story.

With a fond smile Heero stood up, towering over the braided American before taking the other boy by the braid and walking in the direction of the rink.

"Hey! Hey, hey, ow!" Duo complained as he felt himself tripping over his skates. Catching himself, he came to the point where he had enough slack in his braid to turn toward Heero and give him a glare worth Death itself. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Yuy!" A few people turned their heads to stare at the boy's outburst, and Duo ducked his head in chagrin.

"I'm going to teach you how to ice skate," he said simply, stepping out into the rink and gently tugging on Duo's braid so the other would follow. With a grunt Duo took a step inside, feeling the bottom of his first foot hit the icy rink before taking another step and gliding toward the direction Heero was pulling him...

... before he promptly fell on his ass. "Ouch..."

Heero chuckled and let go of the braid, helping the other boy up and sweeping his hand across the boy's buttocks as a way of brushing the ice crystals away from the black material.

Duo almost glared, though when he realized he enjoyed the attention, he didn't. Instead he calmly stated, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Teasing you or teasing you?"

"Both," Duo replied, understanding and agreeing with the double meaning. He watch a slow grin curl the corners of the Japanese boy's mouth before setting off to teach the American how to skate again.

After two long, gruesome hours of constant falling and butt-brushing, Duo wearily took a step onto land that didn't melt, kneeled down, and kissed the floor. He thought he'd never be so glad as to kiss a dirty floor where millions had tread daily, but he was perfectly content with his lips connected to the ground. Heero laughed at the spectacle the American was making of himself, but the braided one didn't care. He was finally on solid, wonderful land.

"I'm never ice skating again," he vowed later as he turned in the dreadful, sweaty skates. "In fact, I'm never going skating again, _period_. This is all your fault, Yuy!"

Heero grinned handsomely and turned in his own pair of skates. "I know." For some explainable reason only known to the Japanese man, he strangely felt no guilt at all over the mock anger Duo was showing him. They had both had plenty of fun trying to trip each other on the ice, and a few times Duo had succeeded.

Little did the American know that the only reason he did succeed was so Heero could feel the American's hand run down his tight buttocks in order to clear away all of the ice crystals not yet melted.

"Did you two have fun?" Helen asked innocently, almost grinning from ear to ear as she shifted Solo from one hip to the other. The older woman had stayed for quite awhile before tiring and retreating into the safety of the booth, turning in her skates and joining her daughter in the sport of watching the two discreetly flirt with each other in the rink.

Duo blushed crimson when he realized just what that smile meant. "I've vowed never to skate again," he answered honestly, grinning up at Heero and blowing the taller boy a raspberry.

"And I've vowed never to try to teach you again," Heero answered swiftly, returning the raspberry a little too close and hitting his mark. As soon as his tongue took its sweet time caressing Duo's for a millisecond, both retracted into the insides of their mouths, Duo staring in wonder and Heero smirking in satisfaction.

"So where to?" Helen asked brightly, trying to drawn out Hilde's muffled attempts at covering her cackles and failing miserably.

"Well." Heero looked at the wide-eyed Solo with a twinkle in his Prussian blue eyes, saying matter-of-factly, "I already promised each of you a gift of your choice. Why don't you go pick out something you want? It's on me."

"Heero–-"

"We couldn't possibly–-"

"You don't have to do–-"

"Yay!" Solo took no time bothering to hide his happiness as he quickly wiggled out of his grandmother's grasp and sped toward the toy store. "Momma! I want the DeathScythe action figure! Pleeease?"

"Why don't you go ahead and get the whole set?" Heero called out guilelessly. "They all come in a set, don't they?"

"Yay!"

Hilde sighed and pinched Heero's arm. "You're encouraging him!"

"A kid deserves to be encouraged," Heero defended honestly, biting back a grin before fixing his Prussian blue eyes on the purple-haired girl. "C'mon, let Solo-kun indulge. Duo has already promised to _try_ and pay me back," he added, putting an emphasis on 'try'.

"You conceited, no good, rotten..." With a small, delicate kiss Heero broke off Duo in his tirade, bringing the braided American out of his mock anger and putting him into an even more emotionally involved daze. With a small, sincere smile he wrapped one muscled arm around Duo's waist and pulled him closer.

Helen and Hilde got the drift and made their way toward the toy store Solo disappeared into, Hilde giggling madly at the obvious show of affection and Helen discreetly hiding a grin behind a hand.

"I'm not being con... Okay, so maybe I am being conceited," he gave in, his smile growing larger. "But I also don't want you trying to pay me back left and right. If everyone tried to pay me back for all of the money or things I've given away, I'd probably be three times richer than I already am." Brushing Duo's backside 'accidently' as he retracted his arm, the Japanese youth took great delight in seeing Duo jerk to attention and blush beat red. "Don't worry about it and have fun. You don't seem to have enough of that."

"I have plenty of..." Heero cut Duo off, taking his other arm and looping it around Duo to clasp his hand in the back. Duo found himself placing his small, slim fingered hands grabbing both sides of the Japanese boy's head and going with it, this time following up on Heero's slow but thorough kiss. Snapping out of his daze once Heero moved away–-or his lips moved away, as the case may be--, Duo said softly, "I never expected to be making out with a guy in the middle of a mall. What would that old woman sitting on the bench gawking at us tell her friends in the bridge club?"

"Truthfully? She'd probably tell everyone she knows that she saw actor Heero Yuy kissing another guy in the mall, and homosexuality will increase by eleven percent."

Duo laughed lightly, smacking Heero's enclosed arms around him and wiggling out of the actor's grip. "All right, hot stuff, let's go help Hilde with Solo before he decides to ask if he can have the whole store. And damn it, you'd give it to him and he knows it!"

"That was totally unnecessary."

Heero paused in his humming, corking an innocent eyebrow and turning his head toward the suddenly quiet cousin. "Nani ka?"

"Letting us buy stuff with your money," she explained. "You didn't really have to do it." Somehow she managed to ignore the splash signaling that Duo and Solo had just rough played their way into the fountain. Heero, however, couldn't ignore something as funny and turned his attention to the laughing young man and the giggling child.

"It's okay," he said after a second. "I like spending money. I have too much of it."

"Is that why you have thirty-two cars at your disposal?" Hilde asked wryly, snorting a laugh.

"Seventy-five," he corrected artlessly, "including the absence of the one I gave to Duo."

"That you also paid that gang to watch over," she added for him.

"_That_ was 100 percent Trowa Barton," he grinned. "But I do have to pay him back and forward money to that gang every week."

"They won't like it when the money stops after we move, huh?"

Heero blinked at the older woman beside him. She knew?

"I'm not totally clueless, Heero," Hilde grinned. "You have this all planned out. Duo gets the money from making and decides he can do good by moving all of us into a safer neighborhood. Hopefully he'll give you a choice in houses, but you won't be satisfied with his quaint, homey houses because a) it won't be close enough to you, and b) you'd rather it be closer to you. So you'll end up talking him into something bigger and closer to your home. That way you'll be within some sort of jogging distance, and you'll get to see him every day. Correct?"

Heero shook his head and smiled thoughtfully. "That last part is an idea I could be considering..."

"My cousin is a wonderful guy," Hilde told him, watching the two wet boys wrestle their way into the higher water fountain, seemingly ignorant of all the strange looks they were earning, "But his head is like a nonstick frying pan." At her analogy, Heero frowned in confusion. "The post-it notes could be flying at him with super glue pasted to their backsides and a lot of them still won't comprehend with him," she explained. "Some of your actions he's understanding perfectly. You want him. He wants you. He doesn't know why you want him, and he doesn't know why he wants you. He doesn't see the adoration that's clearly becoming more than that, he doesn't notice those strange smiles are usually meant and showed to him only. You need to make it clearer to him."

"Make what clear?" But he already knew the answer. He just wasn't sure he was ready for what it was.

"Whether you just want a good time or his love," she retorted with a roll of her eyes. "What else? He can't be sure, and I rather you tell him you plan to stick by before you decide to take him to bed. He doesn't exactly sleep around, you know."

_That's to-the-point._ "You make it a habit to know his sleeping habits?"

"Enough to know that, should you get your way, you'll be his first." That was getting a bit personal, Heero reflected. But somehow he was both excited and giddy at the thought of... of...

_Down boy._

"You'll hear a lot of stuff about Mark and Duo," Hilde whispered lowly, catching the other boy from his musing. Mark... Heero had heard that name before, coming from Duo's lips when he was talking to Khushrenada. He had disregarded the comments about 'better company', but now that Hilde had brought it up...

"And Mark is?" he prompted.

"A total sleaze," Hilde scowled. "He didn't have his way. Sometimes I hear about him from Carla. He pops up at the store from time to time to bug the hell out of Duo. It seems Mark didn't take kindly to Duo breaking up with him, and he does all he can to bug Duo to the point of harassment. Sometimes Duo just breaks up and talks to me, but rarely and never in detail. Always 'Mark just bugged me today' or 'I wish Mark would just leave me alone'. Carla fills in the gaps.

"Apparently, Mark," she spat his name with vehemence he'd rarely seen or heard coming from the frail girl before him, "has a habit of 'just browsing' in the same isle Duo would be in. He'd mutter obscene ideas, sometimes to where customers could hear. He'd call Duo poor trash, or he'd lie about 'nights spent screwing each other's brains out'. Duo would never tell me what brought Mark's anger on, other than the fact he refused to go on a date with him or something. I have a feeling it's a lot more than just that."

Duo? Someone was harassing _his_ Duo? With slow, cautious breaths he mentally did his multiplication tables inside his head to calm himself enough to ask, "Why doesn't he..." He choked off the rest of his sentence. Press charges. Duo couldn't afford to do something like that.

"I'm sure you guessed one of the reasons," Hilde drawled. "Here's a few more. According to Carla, Mark's daddy is a lawyer, and a damn good one. His uncle is a DA, his aunt is a judge, and he has a cousin on the police force. And they're all made of old and new money. Mark was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he's not afraid to flaunt that."

Heero tried to bite off a rather vile, nasty curse at that. He didn't succeed. Mission failure.

"Duo won't appreciate you getting into his affairs," Hilde cut in his almost-cursing tirade. "I just warned you because there would be no doubt that if you ask the folks around here, they'd all tell you that Duo was a good two-bit whore because of the words of a few big liars and a couple of well-placed bills. I'd like to tell you that if you even think of doubting his innocence to that sort of life, I'll have to castrate your ass. You got me, Yuy?"

With a slow, steady breath the Japanese boy nodded. He wouldn't get into it. He wouldn't. He would respect Duo's wishes and not interfere with matters that didn't... Well... "If I ever see this Mark and hear him say something to Duo, I won't hesitate to defend him."

Hilde grinned. "That's good to hear. That's very good to hear."

If not surpassing, Heero matched the slow grin. "Castrate my ass?" he said, placing both hands on his rump and looking mockingly worried. "But what would the world do without my ass?"

Duo took the time to finally hop out of the fountain and squeeze the water dripping from his long braid, just in time to hear the last comment coming from the bisheinen Japanese boy he found himself developing a crush on. Without missing a beat, he quipped poetically and logically, "We'd be less one asshole."

Hilde was still practically doubled over in laughter by the time Heero had picked his jaw up from the floor. With an evil grin he tackled the laughing braided baka into the fountain, thoroughly pleased at the soaked and still grinning American. Not only did Heero go home drenched, he went home extremely and utterly satisfied.

For a while, in any case...

* * *

_**OWARI Chapter Seven**_

**And, of course, C&C always welcome.**


	9. Chapter Eight

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have this terrible habit of referring to the Gundam-boys as "boys", even though I'm trying to portray them as older than in the actual series. If you catch that I've referred to, say, Quatre as "the blond boy", please disregard that -even though he's eternally fifteen in my head (because, for some damn reason, I can't get the guy to age at all .) he's still a "man." Secondly, this chapter was at one point written in first person POV due to some flight of fancy when I wrote it originally. I decided it wasn't right for one chapter to be like that when the other's weren't, so I went through it and tried to change it all. If there's a subject-verb disagreement or a randomly placed I, me, mine, or we, I'm very sorry.**

**The meaning of C&C: Literally, Comments and Criticism; like R&R (read and review). Basically it's the old-school way of asking for reviews. Sorry if that confused you.**

**Props to aspiring author for once again pointing out my mistakes. Heh.**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**_**_Capricious Purple Clarity  
__Chapter Eight_**

* * *

****

"Sugoisugoisugoi..."

Yes, Duo was actually this excited. He didn't think he'd been this excited in a long time. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd never been as thrilled as he was when he stepped out of Heero's awesome (and most likely expensive) black '64 Lincoln Continental convertible, complete with red interior.

Sweet car.

In any case, he was awed–-no, wowed–-no, no! Umm... Floored! Yes, he was floored by the sight and hustle and bustle in front of him.

Duo must have passed that same base they were filming at a dozen times without a second thought. Who would ever guess that one day the place someone passed by on a regular basis would one day be a part of a movie?

He'd never actually set foot on the base, although Hilde used to go there and sing for the soldiers when the war was in progress not long ago. After the war the soldiers all got together and sent her this nice little gift–-a heart-shaped water globe with an angel watching over two playing children inside. The music was pretty. He used to listen to it over and over and make up words that probably didn't exist. It was probably safely tucked into Solo's room as one of his prized possessions for all he knew, because after a while he never saw it again.

Soldiers–-those that stayed on base with nothing better to do or no one to go home to–-all milled around, though away from a submarine where the scene was being shot. From the gist of it Duo paretically understood what was going on, but he only had time to memorize his first scene. He hadn't signed anything yet; Howard Stiles, the director of this darling development, wanted to see exactly how good he was before handing him anything to sign.

"Don't worry," Heero had said with a small, secretive smile that drove the braided man's hormones into a wild, frenzied party. "Howard and I have complete faith in you."

This coming from the Yale graduate at age eighteen. Or Harvard. It might have been Columbus, but Duo reluctantly admitted to himself that when they were talking about school he was mostly going over the lines in his head. He did remember that Heero graduated high school at fourteen and spent nearly five years in college.

Back to the soldiers. He really had no problem with them. Duo stood on the side, watching in quiet enthrallment as five stacked missiles–-probably duds, but who knows?–-were lowered on the deck of the sub for future use. Heero had mentioned that this was an action adventure/romance.

That is, until one by one they started looking at him more. After a while he thought they either had his already frail nerves snapping or they were already shot to hell. Duo didn't like much attention, and they were giving him a little too much.

"Isn't that Hilde's cousin?"

"Looks like his picture."

"She always talked about that braid..."

He almost physically slumped in relief. _They knew Hilde_, he thought with ease. If they knew Hilde, they were alright. Hilde had a sixth sense about people, and... well, they _seemed_ like they were really nice to her before.

"Hey, Duo-kun!" The American felt an arm slip in the crook of his elbow and heard the laugh of a familiar, high voice and smelled something like lavender. He didn't even have to wonder to know who had just curled herself around him before smiling winningly and greeting the bubbly blonde politely.

"Nice to see you again," she chirped with a wide, mischievous smile before she made a nonchalant look around. "Did your family come with you? I'm sure Solo would have loved to see the making of the greatest movie yet."

He smiled at her. He understood why Heero seemed gruffly fond of the wheat blonde girl with the cornflower blue eyes. Within the span of a day she could have a complete stranger wrapped so totally around her finger it wouldn't even be funny.

"No, Solo had school today," he replied with an earnestness in his smile. "Aunt Helen and Hilde were still sleeping off the exhaustion of last night. They haven't been out in a long time, you know."

Looked to him like Relena planned to change that. "Ah. So how are they?"

"Hilde was fine before we left, Relena," Heero said somewhat teasingly as he stepped up to the other side of Duo, slipping his arm through the bend of the American's elbow, surrounding him on both sides. "Funny how you managed to drop my sis so quickly, Relena-sama. How... abrupt."

"She's close to being married," Relena shrugged defensively. "I moved to greener pastures a long time ago. Besides, I don't think I could survive another day with Wu giving me the hairy eyeball." She attempted to demonstrate this adorable little act, but Duo doubted it looked as cute as the real deal.

"Married? Only if he gets the balls, honey." This voice was new, and Duo had to do a full 180 to see the newcomer. She wasn't tall, about Heero's height. She had very long, very blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes that must have been her best features. Her forked eyebrows, so much like Trieze Khushrenada's to a farther degree, were by far her strangest and most noticeable trait.

To the side of her stood a very tall man with light brown hair piled on one side of his face, covering one clear cut emerald green eye and leaving the other exposed for all to see. He sized Duo up as the braided man had momentarily done to him, and nodded as if in approval. He didn't say a thing through the entire exchange, but his thoughtful green eyes softened noticeable when landing on the shorter boy beside him.

The blond man had hair that matched the color of the woman's hair, and his wide, caring teal eyes were by far more expressive than his companion's. He was lithe, like Duo, and about the same height. With his friendly smile and posture (though he was leaning very close to the taller boy, like marking who was his and telling me he was Off Limits), Duo could tell they would be very close friends in the future.

"This must be Duo," the teal eyed angel said softly, smiling brightly as he held out a hand. "Ohayo nasai! I'm Quatre Rebarba Winner, Heero's friend and your co-star."

"Duo Maxwell," he said with a cheeky grin, taking the blond's offered hand and giving it a firm shake. "Ohayo! The pleasure's all mine."

"I'm sure Heero forgot to mention me," the blonde woman said with an affectionate, teasing grin sent toward the handsome Japanese man. "I'm Dorothy Catalonia, Heero's stepsister. Nice to finally meet you, but we'll be on opposite sides in the movie."

"He's mentioned a lot about you," Duo said honestly. "It's nice to meet you, too." Duo was dull when it came to new, creative greetings, but call him up on the phone and most would get a whole new surprise...

_Flashback_

"Hi, I put the 'fun' in dysfunctional," Duo greeted cheerfully at what must have been three o'clock in the morning. "How can I help you on this delightful Friday morning?"

He heard a quiet chuckle on the other side of the line, and Duo was immediately pleased when Heero answered, "D-Y-S-F-U... Hn. There _is_ a fun in dysfunctional..."

"Told you," Duo insisted, glancing at the bright red, glowing numbers on my digital clock. "What's up at three in the morning... besides you, I mean."

"Truthfully? Trowa and Quatre doing a little more than what it seems in their bedroom." Duo could distinctly hear a low moan in the background, but he bit his lip and grinned to keep from asking. "But I called to remind you about the little screen test and contract signing tomorrow. I just remembered and I had to kick myself for keeping you out so late."

"Do I look like I get that many hours of sleep in a week?" Duo asked in amazement, cracking a grin when he heard Heero laugh again.

"Are you nervous?"

"Dude, you haven't given me enough time to be nervous," the braided man answered truthfully, grabbing his script and reading over a few lines. "I think the character fits me well, though. It'll be a piece of cake." He paused. "What's this stuff about wheat fields and reaping?"

"Your character's way of speaking military terms. Don't worry too much about it, you'll start to understand the plot as it thickens." Duo could hear the rustling of the phone as Heero shifted. Duo thought it sounded as if the Japanese man was trying to block out a particularly loud moan, but he was sorry to admit he failed. Badly. "Listen, I'll let you go so you can get some sleep, all right?"

"You just don't want me to hear the wonderful healthiness in Trowa and Quatre's relationship," he teased.

He paused. "That wasn't Trowa and Quatre. That was Wufei and Dorothy."

Duo couldn't help it. He started to laugh, trying to keep quiet by stuffing as much of his fist as he could into his mouth. It was just too much... "Are you the only one not getting any?"

"Not for long, hopefully." Before Duo could ask what he even meant by that -as if he couldn't guess!– Heero murmured a quick good-bye and hung up the phone. Duo shook his head and followed suit, flipping around and curling into his favorite sleeping position.

It wasn't three minutes later before the phone rang again. Duo blindly reached over and picked it up. "Hi, the word of the week is 'legs'. Spread the word," he quipped, having a feeling he knew exactly who it was.

It was.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Heero said with a small laugh. "You don't have to wear anything particularly special to the shoot, okay? They'll have plenty of outfits to fit you in, and I'm sure they have your size and an idea of your outfit to fit your 'background' in the movie. I'll pick you up at eight. Bye." Click.

"Good morning to you too," Duo groused to himself playfully, hanging up the phone. It rang immediately.

"Hi, Duo Maxwell here. I'm off marrying the Queen of the World, but leave your name and number after the beep and I'll get back to you after I achieve reality. Or I won't if I don't like you. Beep!"

It wasn't Heero.

"Hello, this Jada Gold from Channel 8 News. Do you mind if I ask you a few quick questions about your upcoming movie and how you came into the part?"

Duo froze. "Lady, you do realize that it's three-oh-seven in the morning. Wherever you are, I hope it's pretty early in the morning, too."

He could hear her silent rue over the phone. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Maxwell! I'm out of town, and I meant to do this interview earlier this week..." She sighed regretfully. "I guess I forgot all about time zones."

"We all make mistakes," he soothed, not feeling angry with her at all. "I was wide awake anyway. Heero keeps callin' to remind me in his nick-pick way about the shoot tomorrow!" He laughed, showing her it was all okay.

"Shoot," she sighed. "I'll be back by tomorrow. Do you mind if we have a face-to-face interview? I'd really like to ask you a few questions to clear up the confusion among different groups at the opposite end of the same spectrum, if you get my drift."

He hesitated. "Tomorrow? Um..."

"Do you want me to come to your house? If you're too tired to leave–-"

"You really don't know where I live, do you?" He laughed softly in the phone when she admitted she didn't even know what he looked like. By the end of the phone conversation he had set up to meet her in a small little diner somewhere uptown. Finally he was able to get some sleep!...

_End Flashback_

"Oi." Duo felt Heero tap him on the shoulder, bringing him back from his momentary lapse of reality. "You zoned on me. Did you get enough sleep last night?" The teasing hint in his eyes were there, and damn him, it certainly did something for Duo's libido!

"Not really," he rattled with a mocking yawn. "I mean, in between your twenty-seventh early Friday morning phone call to remind me to wear my hair up tight and the twenty-eighth call to remind me to bring a brush and a list of my clothes sizes, I actually had a call from someone who had an excuse for calling at three in the morning."

Heero's friends cracked up, picking on him about coming on a little strong. He shrugged simply. "You were keeping me up. It's not my fault my room's wedged between you four." Nonchalantly he added, "And I do believe it was you who said the only reason I wanted to let you go was because I didn't want you knowing the healthy aspects of Trowa and Quatre's bed life. Or how loud Dorothy actually is in bed..."

The three aforementioned friends cleared their throats and looked away from one another, but especially found it difficult to force eye contact with Duo. Relena, he noticed, smirked lecherously.

Heero seemed to finally realize Duo had said something else; it really wasn't like him to not immediately register something and mentally file it away for future reference. _He mustn't be a morning person... _"What moron called you at three o'clock in the morning?" He sounded a little angry. Duo actually had to give him a look that told all, and he was pretty sure the four of his friends were beginning to laugh again.

"Besides me," he added politely and a little stiff-like, like his own insult didn't compare to him because he was the one that made the comment. He was conceited, all right, and what was worse (and enduring) was that he didn't realize it most of the time.

"Some reporter from Channel 8," he answered with a shrug. "She's outta town and coming back today. Apparently she was in a hurry and forgot about time zones." Duo could see they were all looking at him funny. "What?"

"You set up an appointment with her, didn't you?" To Duo, it sounded as if they had all pegged him the type, but Dorothy sounded a little pained at her own question. He nodded slowly.

"Well, yeah, I didn't see any reason not to," he rambled on. "Why? I won't tell her anything about the movie, y'know, I barely understand the script as of yet."

"It's not that, Duo-kun," Quatre replied with a little frown. "I myself found nothing wrong about talking to reporters and interviewers when I first started out... but throw one a bone and the others are calling you and begging for the same interview. You'll get pretty tired of all the attention real fast."

Duo never really wanted the attention anyway, so he was already pretty much tired of it. He didn't say that, though. "Can't do anything about it now," he quipped cheerfully, although he didn't at all feel cheerful. "If I cancel than she'll just badmouth me for tryin' to dump her or something."

"Hey, kid!" Ah. Duo recognized that voice. He turned a tantalizing grin toward Howard Stiles, who had decided to finally make his appearance among the group of young actors. With a bat of his long lashes, and made a show of giggling like a ditz.

"Don't you mean 'chic'?" he asked guilelessly, taking pleasure in his little blanch and grinning virtuously ear to ear. The four that had joined us not long ago began to snicker a bit, but quieted down.

"Keep it up, smartass," Howard said with a playfully displeased look. He dropped the scowl so fast that Duo had thought he imagined the whole thing. "Get your butt down to makeup and see if they can do anything with you. And have them fit you a wardrobe while your at it. Yuy, show him the way." He turned back to Relena, Quatre, Trowa, and Dorothy. "While those late blockheads are getting ready, I want you four numbskulls to start filming. Time is of the essence, and if you don't get your essence out there you're all going to have to answer to me. Clear?"

"Crystal," four voices echoed before they all departed, laughing.

"Howard's a bit long-winded," Heero whispered, though loud enough for Howard to hear. "You'll get used to it sooner or later."

"Long-winded?" Howard questioned loudly. "I'll give you long-winded you pugnacious little pule! Take your boyfriend to makeup or you'll have to deal with Olga again." For some reason that sounded really scary right about then...

Sure enough, Heero made a show of staggering back and gasping as if in betrayal. "Surely you don't hate me that much!"

"Enough to send you to Olga, boy," Howard replied simply. "Now go! Get! Begone you vermin of the set!"

They were already running from the ranting, and perhaps just a little, crazy director.

Duo hadn't realized how long getting all prettied-up in makeup took. By the time he was finished with the makeup, outfitted, and given advice about how to ignore cameras, microphones, and such, the sun was already setting. Heero said that was good; the scene was shot at night, anyway.

Relena came back from her latest shoot and the stylist immediately began work on her. Duo looked over his magazine, raising an eyebrow at her blue, expensive looking party dress. Heero made a show of looking at her in disbelief, although Duo bet he already knew beforehand.

"Relena," he said in mock surprise, "they made you put on a dress?"

"Keep it up, Yuy." The usually chipper girl said moodily, sighing as the blush brush went to work on her cheeks. "Do you have any idea how many times I had to do and redo that scene? If I stand over a hill to watch fireworks fly one more time, it'll be too soon!"

"I thought you did that scene yesterday," Heero mumbled.

"I did," she hissed at her reflection. "Stiles said it wasn't good enough."

"Ahh, you know him," Heero waved it off. "He doesn't do anything halfway. Speaking of which, lets head toward the set." He was addressing Duo this time, but he smiled at Relena through the mirror. "We'll catch you when you come back to film scene 26, alright?" Actors seemed to have made it habit to call the scenes by numbers. It would have been easier on Duo if they said 'the scene with all the explosions and stuff' but that happened a lot in the movie and he doubted it would make things any clearer.

"Alright. Break a leg and don't mess up, Duo," Relena smiled winningly. "This is the last scene of the day, and I plan on going home for a nice, long soak in the hot tub."

"Thinking about Hilde," Heero chirped as he stepped out of the door. He saw Relena blush, but Duo just smiled and waved her good-bye.

* * *

_"Hiroshi..."_

_But his eyes suddenly turned cold, and he whirled around with a gun held steadily in her face. She gasped and stumbled back, hurt and confusion written all over her features..._

_"You should have stayed out of my way, Rina," he said coldly, squeezing the trigger..._

_A shot rang out, slamming into the gun-holder's shoulder. He dropped the gun, letting it clatter to the ground as he stumbled in surprise more than anything else. Both turned their attention on the dark figure standing at the end of the sub, both hands holding the gun steady and pointed on the other boy._

_The figure raised his head, revealing two amethyst orbs focused on the scene before him. "Call me uncultured," he said in a dry, almost humored tone, "but I don't think that's a proper why of treatin' a lady, pal. Are you alright, miss?"_

_The former gun-holder's eyes flickered to the gun, and he lunged. The current gun-holder, however, read this move and shot at the gun, knocking the weapon from his reach. He cocked the gun to let out another bullet, this time for the kill, but he hesitated for a brief millisecond._

_This gave the girl time to step in front of the injured boy. "No! Don't kill him!" she insisted with a heated glare at the figure. His head jerked up in shock as she turned his back on him and ripped her elegant party dress to tend her attempted murderer's wound._

_"How is it," the braided boy murmured to himself, lifting his gun to his ear, blowing a breath of exasperation, "that I always seem to turn out to be the bad guy?"_

_At that moment, something in the ocean rumbled to the surface. The braided boy gasped and made a quick glance at his watch. "Damn... I must have miscalculated the time..."_

_And suddenly the Japanese boy was up and running toward the six torpedoes he had set up just for that such occasion..._

* * *

"Yahoo!" Relena pumped a fist in the cool night air as Heero finally turned over from his face-first landing in the water, placing his hands behind his head and floating leisurely, sometimes kicking himself into slow circles. "That's a wrap, people! Duo, sign that blasted contract and lets head home!" 

Duo grinned. "You really get a kick out of this, don't you?" All of a sudden she looked down at Heero, who was swimming below behind the braided man's back and got a devilish look in her eyes. He knew what that look meant. It meant Heero wanted her to do something, and since Duo had a feeling it was towards him... He turned and looked down, only to see the Japanese hottie smiling innocently at him from the water. Well, that didn't seem so evil–-

Two hands planted themselves firmly at his back and shoved...

_SPLASH!_

"YUY!" Duo sputtered once he'd surfaced, aware of Heero's laughter echoing Relena's. "PEACECRAFT! I swear you'll get yours!"

_Now to think about just what I should do..._

_**OWARI Chapter Eight**_

**Yes! That's right! I am totally UNoriginal:_big grin_: The movie Duo and Heero are starring in is a shorter version of Gundam Wing. Two hours and twenty-two minutes of action packed excitement... :_sigh_:**

**Reviews welcomed and highly encouraged!**


	10. Chapter Nine

**_aspiring author -_Fixed it! Thanks. As I replied in the AN HpatSL, I have no particular schedule. I update when I feel it's right; I try to update at least three to five days after I last posted.**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**__**Capricious Purple Clarity  
**__**Chapter Nine** _

* * *

The alarm clock was blasting unmercifully in his ear.

It wasn't that he minded the minor annoyance–-okay, big lie–-MAJOR annoyance blasting really loud country music into his left ear. Alarm clocks were nifty gadgets created to have a person all nice and ready for the morning and day to come. They were meant to blast ruthlessly wailing songs into one's ear. It's how the whole schematics of things worked.

But damned if it wasn't annoying.

With a burst of unusual bad-temperament, he reached his hand out from his nice cocoon of warmth to tap the snooze button. That 'tap', however fortunate, accidently turned into a vicious swipe and clatter as the radio alarm clock banged against the wall and fell to the floor.

Silence.

Duo Maxwell was an hour and forty-two minutes late for work for the first time in his employment history.

----------

"Oh, man, Carla, I am _so_ sorry–-" Duo rushed in, breathless and panting, his hair unusually lose from his familiar binding. Though lose, it fell in layers down his back, miraculously smooth and not sticking out all over the place. He straightened his shirt, doing a last second tuck in before finally facing his boss.

He was sure she was going to crack on him about his slip up. Despite threatening of certain lazy individuals, she rarely ever got on the case of a usually punctual worker. She'd rag him or her out unpityingly and pick with the unfortunate soul until she found fresher meat to bother. Since he himself was a hard worker, he didn't expect a scolding. In fact, he more or less expected her to print this rare event of history in the nearest newspaper.

Her face was a mask of seriousness and pain when he looked at her, and he was momentarily taken aback.

"Duo," she said monotonously, flickering a glance over her shoulder. "I thought you called in sick today. Didn't you say you caught a bad cold from your accident a few days back?" Uh-oh. Carla, his usually chipper boss, was trying to tell him something. He took her advice well enough.

"Um... Yeah. My check. Didn't I tell you I was coming over to get my check today?" he asked, fiddling with a few strands of hair with hidden confusion in his violet eyes. "That and I... need to turn in my two weeks' notice."

Her eyes, wide and sweeping for eavesdroppers, finally settled on him, startled. "Your two weeks notice?..."

"I'm resigning." It was probably a bad time to mention it, with Carla being so nervous and jumpy all of a sudden, but he needed to clear the air. "I can't ask Howard to rearrange his schedule to fit mine, since I'm under his employment. So..."

"Oh!" Her eyes lit up, and she finally gave the long-haired boy a genuine smile. "The big break, ne? I'll miss ya, littling."

Littling. Duo laughed, shaking his head. "It's not the end of the world. I promise to do my best to visit you as much as I can."

"Why don't you come to my office? We'll take care of matters there..." With sudden strength his friend gripped his arm and yanked him bodily into her office, nearly slamming the door on any prying eyes.

"What the–-?" Duo began, but Carla cut him off with a pained look.

"Mark's lurking about somewhere." That shut the usually braid-having man up, and Carla felt shamed she even had to say it. Her younger friend's complexion blanched, his lips thinning as he pressed them tightly together. "I would throw him out if I could, Duo, I really would. But I can't!"

"I know, Carla, and I don't expect you to," Duo soothed. He was well aware that, even if Carla had him thrown out for harassment, Mark Dermail would sue for wrongful treatment of an upstanding citizen. Not that it would be true, but Carla was clearly a middle class patron while Mark's father was an influential upperclassman of the town. No one would go against Mark's claim without consequences, and Carla would be ruined. They didn't come to that conclusion on mere speculation; Mark often threatened just that case whenever Carla became close to doing just that.

"You'll have a bitch of a time getting out of here without him seeing you," Carla admitted after they finished with Duo's resignation forms. "When he found out you were late, he was furious. I told him you'd called in sick and hinted that you'd had an accident. He was fuming."

"Let him fume," Duo said with a glance at her office door. "I won't be around, and he'll have to get used to that idea." Although Duo pitied the poor soul Mark would latch onto next, he had a feeling it wouldn't happen. The Dermail heir clearly zeroed in on the braided man like an unhealthy obsession.

"How's the movie coming along?" A teasing smile tilted Carla's lips when she attempted to change the subject. "Any hot men on the scene?"

"Hm. Well, there's Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton, but, ahh, they're 'not available'," Duo used his fingers as quotations, "and I haven't met Chang Wufei yet, but Dorothy says he's hot and taken. Milliardo Peacecraft is said to be the flirt of the set, but again I haven't met him yet. I know I have a scene with everybody and everybody with a scene, so I'll eventually meet the actors and stuff."

"Milliardo Peacecraft and Quatre Winner!" Carla yelped, hopping from one foot to the next in excitement. "Omigod, those two are, like, my _favorite_ actors, besides Heero of course."

"Of course," Duo grinned. "Maybe I can drag you away from your job and you can meet 'em, proving that Milliardo can worm his way on my good side."

Carla wasn't listening anymore, as she had dug up a few favorite issues of Teen Beat, with clear pictures of the aforementioned blonds and Heero on the covers. She was hugging all six of them and smiling blissfully, sighing in adoration. "You'll be mine one day, Quatre..."

"He's taken," Duo piped in happily.

"That never stopped me from daydreaming of my pursuits of Kevy when he got married, did it?" she asked flippantly, reminding Duo of her huge obsession with the pop sensation named simply 'Train' when he married one of his dancers.

"Jailbait?"

"Don't spoil my mood, and he's eighteen for crying out loud."

"And you're what, twenty-eight?"

"Shaddup."

----------

He peeked his head outside the door, the barest of movement as his eyes flickered from left to right and then down the center. To the left were the cashiers and their registers, diligently registering and aiding the customers of the Kwiki Mart. To his right, the sliding doors to his freedom, though certain individuals could quite possibly be lurking around the corner outside. Down the center, at the end of the long area, were refreshment machines of every kind.

Coast was clear. Time to make a break for it. Steeling himself, Duo slipped quietly out of the office, his hair tightened into a makeshift ponytail. If he hurried (driving the speed limit, of course) he would be able to arrive at his interview early. As torturous as the other actors had described, between an interview with the seediest of interviewers and Mark...

Bring on the interviewer.

He could have been acting totally ridiculous. Mark could have been far gone after he realized that Duo wasn't coming. Frankly Duo thought he had a right to be a little nervous, what with the possibility of being harassed by Mark, the most relentless of jackasses there ever did exist.

Soundlessly he slipped out the doors, glancing around the corner and sighing in relief when he saw no one. Feeling high spirits he walked swiftly down the parking lot, bringing out his car keys and poising to disarm the alarm...

"Well, well. I was told you were sick today, Duo Maxwell."

_Shit_.

Duo flickered his gaze on the source of the voice, feeling a faint ting of loathing creep up his spine as he narrowed his eyes on the tall, broad-shouldered figure. Standing over six feet tall, Mark Dermail wasn't an ugly man on the outside. Slick, short-cropped golden hair and narrow, coal-like onyx eyes were piercing features, along with his square jaw and large, callous hands. He stood from his leaning position on a car Duo was sure didn't belong to Mark.

"I just came by to pick up my paycheck," Duo said hoarsely, feeling his throat go dry as he hooded his eyes. Even then he was unwilling to lie, but he wasn't about to tell the vindictive creep Carla had lied _for_ him.

Mark made an amused sound deep in his throat, grating on Duo's nerves. "Lord forbid you do one day without it. Tell me, how _is_ your darling cousin and her son? I remember seeing him two days ago, but you weren't anywhere around."

_Damn it. _"They're fine." Duo turned away, hurriedly walking nearer the car given to him by Heero. "I'm sorry, I really must be going..." He wanted to leave before Mark asked about the car and had the chance to make any other stinging remarks about his lack of a bank account. Car alarm control in hand, he ignored Mark making a scathing remark as he pointed and pressed the green button–-

A roar of sound, the sight of flames, and the force of the explosion knocked Duo off of his feet and into the nearest car. The distant sound of screaming and cursing ringing in his ears, pain where he had hit his head escalated until the point where all went white...

----------

"We seem to be seeing a lot of each other, aren't we, Mr. Maxwell?"

With a jerk Duo was back in the land of the conscious, blinking stupidly at the familiar Cantonese woman in a white coat. Perplexed, he veered back when she noticed her hand reaching for his forehead...

"Relax," she said soothingly. "In addition to the bump in the back of your head, a piece of falling debris managed to beam you in the front, too. I'm just disinfecting the small cut."

"Oh..." Duo searched for a name with the face, distinctly remembering her as the doctor that treated him after nearly drowning. "Doctor Po?"

"That's right," she smiled, taking away the cotton swab. "Well, you only have minor injuries. A goose egg from where your head hit the window and a small scratch from falling debris. A skinned knee and only a bruised wrist from where you supposedly tried to brace yourself from the aftershock, right?"

"I..." Duo wrung his head for the answer to that question, but it slipped his mind. "I don't remember."

"That's okay. I didn't expect you to," Doctor Po answered gently. "As a precaution I'll be asking a few questions. Do you feel up to answering?"

"Um, sure."

"All right. What's the date?" And the questions continued, ranging from "How many people live in the same home as you?" and "What were you doing at the Kwiki Mart?" Finally satisfied with his answers, she nodded and wrote something down on a pad.

"Okay. I'll be giving you a prescription for minor painkillers. Wether you use them or not is your choice, but if you don't, you'll have one horrible headache for a while. You can leave any time you please. Mr. Yuy has taken care of your bill." She gave him a playfully stern look. "No more dynamic stunts, you hear? Next thing you know, I'll be treating you because you fell out of a car going thirty MPH."

He didn't want to admit that he'd done that before. Only the car had been going more like forty-five instead of thirty.

Outside the E.R., Duo immediately sought out the Japanese man he was accustomed to seeing around his time of need. The doctor _had_ mentioned that Heero had paid for the bill again, and it only made sense that the Japanese man was hanging around, most likely worried out of his mind. The American had found him easily. The other two, however, he did not recognize...

"Duo." Hard Prussian eyes softened upon sight of the violet-eyed boy. The other two, a tall lean African American and a younger, shorter, and broader Puerto Rican in black suits turned to meet him with Heero.

"Hey, Heero," Duo said softly, finding his disheveled ponytail in his hands as he nervously glanced at the two unfamiliar strangers. Sensing his distress, Heero nodded to the two.

"These are Detectives Rico and Donner from the San Francisco Police Department," he introduced stiffly. "Detective Rico, Detective Donner, this is Duo Maxwell."

"Police department?" Duo demanded hoarsely, eyes widening in shock.

"Yes, Mr. Maxwell," Rico nodded firmly, flashing a badge. "We have reason to believe, due to a threatening notice left at Mr. Yuy's doorstep, that the car bombing was intentionally for your attention. There is no evidence of who could have possibly planted the bomb, but we are certain it involves the small factor of people against the filming of your movie."

"It's not my movie..." Duo replied absently, still trying to acknowledge the words spoken calmly by the major. "So this is a prejudice thing? Some assholes decide that a movie is far worst than murder, so murder equals right?"

Heero looked a bit startled, noting the spitfire under those violet orbs at the venomous statement. He couldn't remember ever hearing the American wildcat curse in front of others without looking deeply embarrassed by his outburst. Heck, he couldn't remember hearing Duo curse ever.

"I'm afraid that's the case, Mr. Maxwell," replied the colored man as he stood from his seat. "Unfortunately it happens a lot. Mr. Yuy explained your situation," Duo glanced at Heero wordlessly, wondering exactly what that meant, "and he has offered you and your family a place to stay with him."

"Wha? No!" Duo blinked. "I mean, not that I don't mind or anything, but I had the impression you already have four people in the same place with you, Heero."

"I have a big place," Heero replied seriously, crossing his arms in a way that meant he wasn't taking no as an answer. "Four more won't be a problem. I'll even have an extra bedroom to spare, and I'm sure Solo would love the space."

_Oh sure, bring him into it, you little devil_. Duo tried not to scowl at Heero's slyness. He really did. He even made a note that Heero was doing what he was doing because he was truly worried about them all. But damned if he didn't know how to manipulate a situation so much that Duo ended up in the same house has him!

Duo... scowled. Not heavily so, but just enough that Heero would dutifully note his disapproval.

"Mr. Yuy has excellent security, Mr. Maxwell," Rico continued after the lull in the conversation showed no hint of reviving itself. "You would be safer staying with him until we can have something arranged. Unfortunately that can take up to a month, three months at the most. Donner and I would feel better knowing your safe while we look for the attempted murderer or murderers."

"Duo," Heero put in firmly, "I'll not allow your pride to get you killed. There have been cases like this where a star, music and movie alike, are killed because of skin color or sexual preference. Some do it because of true prejudice. Others do it because they simply feel the need for the publicity. Sometimes it's both." Heero's worry and fearfulness etched itself into his handsome features. "I'll not allow your pride to get you killed or put your family in danger."

That finally seemed to hit Duo. Knees failing him, he dropped into the nearest seat and cradled his head in his hands. He felt the beginnings of a headache coming on. "How many people were hurt?"

Donner looked surprised at the question. _Huh. Probably pegged me as the type that cares only for his own skin_, Duo thought darkly. "Seven. One woman and her child are in ICU with critical injuries. They were loading up in the car in front of yours when the explosion happened."

Duo squeezed his eyes shut and flinched, rubbing his temples in a circular motion to relieve the tension forming there. "Do what you have to do to get those assholes off the streets. If they're willing to hurt innocent people to get my 'attention'," Duo spat, "then they don't deserve to see the light of day."

Heero nodded in full agreement with Duo's vehement words, reaching over and squeezing the long-haired boy's arm softly in offered comfort. With a dismissing nod toward the two detectives, Heero silently helped his friend stand and walk out the door into the cool night air...

* * *

_**OWARI Chapter Nine**_

**The heat is on! We've finally met Mark. Isn't he a grade-A asshole. turns on her creepy announcer voice thing Who is out to make bodily harm on our beloved braided baka? Will the movie ever be completed? How many times will Duo visit Doctor Po? And where will Duo's next relocation be? Hmm... Could it be... :lewd grin: Heero's bedroom?**

**And now for some slightly depressing news. Updates are going to slow down a bit. I'm embarking on the college path once again. Damn school... Sorry for that.**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Awww... You missed me. Hugs for everyone! Apparently, I'm in a posting mood...**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
Capricious Purple Clarity  
**__**Chapter Ten** _

* * *

He didn't always want to be an actor. There was once upon a time he didn't even think about acting. He wanted to be (and still did want to be) a director. In fact, during the days he had the extra time, he would dig out his handheld camcorder and start filming whatever caught his attention. His friends and their antics, animals, whatever stayed in his mind long enough to be deemed worth filming.

The best part, however, was the fact that it drove his girlfriend to vexation.

"Is that thing on?"

It was always the first question the person walking through the door would ask. Most of the time, the camera was on. If they knew that, then they wouldn't act like themselves. If they didn't act natural, than there really wasn't a purpose to having the camcorder on in the first place. If there wasn't a purpose to having the camcorder on, then he'd be a very bored guy, and that just wouldn't do. So when asked this slightly suspicious question, what did he say?

"Why would I lay a camcorder on the table and leave it on?" It wasn't exactly a lie, per se, it was just a hypothetical question that no one would answer because of their assuming natures. Said with enough irritation, they would drop it all together.

This is one way Chang Wufei learned he was a great actor.

"Great." Quatre sighed in relief, walking fully into the huge kitchen and sitting down at the table, just enough that he was in perfect view of the camera. With a hidden smile, Wufei lapsed into lazy relaxation, leaning back in his seat at the head of the table.

"So what's been happening since I've been holed up in my room for the past three days?" he asked nonchalantly, knowing very little but enough to know that Heero was the big talk amongst the three other actors, the cook, the maid, and the butler. He was closed off from the outside world, but he wasn't deaf. That, and the walls were painfully thin.

"I think you'll be happy to know that Relena has finally given up on bedding Dorothy." Wufei was definitely surprised. Relena had been after Dorothy since before the pale blonde and he had gotten together. He'd thought nothing short of a crowbar could pry the wheat blonde's attention away from his girlfriend.

"How did this come about?"

Quatre grinned, since he loved gossip of any kind. If it happened, the blonde would definitely find out and spread the word about it. "Apparently Relena got an eyeful of Heero's crush's cousin. According to Relena, 'She's a babe!'" Wufei chuckled at Quatre's mimic of the mentioned woman's high voice.

"We also finally met the mystery boy. Duo Maxwell? Heero was sadly inaccurate with his description of him."

"Is he bad-looking?" Now this also surprised Wufei quite a bit. Heero had an eye and could spot anything beautiful, inside or out, from a mile away. He couldn't imagine Heero describing a god and the boy turning out to be lesser than that.

"No, far from it, in fact. He's gorgeous!" Quatre grinned, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket in the center of the table and biting into it with gusto. "Better looking than how Heero depicted."

Well now... Teasingly, Wufei asked, "Really. Does Trowa know about your estimation?"

Quatre laughed ruefully behind his second bite of apple. "That _was_ Trowa's estimation."

"Well, Trowa's estimation was pretty much on the mark," Dorothy remarked casually as she strolled into the kitchen and plopped down into the seat in front of Quatre, a sheen of sweat gleaning on her forehead and soaking the neck of her shirt. She was panting only slightly as she reached for an orange and began mechanically peeling the skin from the meat inside. "Duo Maxwell is, no doubt, a hottie. No surprise considering Heero is picky on just about anything and everything. Is that thing on?"

Wufei sighed tragically. "Dorothy, you know me better." What wasn't surprising was the fact that Heero also strolled into the kitchen the same time Dorothy's remark was being said.

Lifting a fine eyebrow, he countered her comment with a deft, "Am not," before opening the huge silver refrigerator and sifting through the contents. "Where's the blueberry yogurt?"

"Trowa must have eaten the last one yesterday," Quatre replied helpfully. "He said blueberry was the closest thing to grape, which I believe we're out of. I know there are plenty of peaches and cream left, though."

"I don't like peaches and cream."

"Well, try the chocolate." Quatre was very reluctant to part with his chocolate yogurt.

"I don't like chocolate either."

"What are you talking about? You like chocolate everything!" Wufei decided to add his two cents into the conversation. One never knew when one could talk again. At least, not with that bunch around.

"Not chocolate yogurt. It's disgusting." Quatre didn't seem at all offended. In fact, he looked rather happy no one was going to touch his chocolate yogurt.

"Oh, for God's sake, Hee-chan, eat my strawberry and quit whining!" Dorothy finally said in exasperation, planting her hands on the oak table with a slightly loud bang. After seeing his displeased expression when he sat down with his yogurt, she couldn't help but quip, "Not picky, eh?"

Heero was determined not to be thwarted. "I felt like blueberry today."

"I noticed there were a few hidden behind a mound of peaches and cream last night," Trowa supplied from the doorway, drawing the attention of Wufei and the three actors. With a cautious, "Is that thing on?" followed by Wufei's impatient answer, he sat at the table across from Heero, who was sitting on the other side of Quatre.

Heero growled softly and nearly broke all of his teeth in his mouth while shoving his spoon filled with strawberry yogurt in there. "Why do we even _have_ peaches and cream? Nobody likes it."

No one answered. Finally, Wufei just snorted and crossed his arms, giving them looks that told them they should have figured it out a long time ago. "Perfect hiding places for favorites where no one will touch them. Duh."

"What evil mastermind thought that up?" Heero growled again, crossing his eyes to focus on the spoon filled with strawberry yogurt. Wufei grinned devilishly, foxy ears sprouting from his head.

"Me!" he cackled.

Everyone either shook their head in wonder (how the heck did he do that fox-ear thing?) or laughed outright at the fine picture of wackiness he sometimes displayed when he was cooped up inside a room for far too long.

The display of complete madness is something else expected from four extremely talented actors and a woman who, Wufei thought, was worthy of camera attention herself, but far be it from him to allow that to reach Dorothy's ears. He had a reputation to uphold.

It was much later--that is, only forty-five minutes of side-splitting, milk-shoots-out-your-nose fun and games at the snack counter--when Wufei was walking away, a satisfied smile planted firmly on his lips as he carted his camera--still rolling, of course--into the parlor. This time, the camcorder had definite signs of life, so the four camera hating actors had found themselves scarce in the presence of Chang Wufei. He was about to turn it off since he had lost his entertainment factor...

Until, that is, the doorbell rang.

Wufei was very cautious after being secluded from the others for so long. He had reasons to be. Every time he came out of hiding, someone played a prank on the poor Chinese man. He was on edge until it hit, and he was only taken surprise last time because he wasn't expecting a 'telemarketer' (if you can use this term loosely to describe a phone-sex operator) to call him. Now he was certain he was prepared for anything the others could throw at him.

He opened the door, the camera held by the handle at his side. He made like it wasn't on, but to tell the truth, he had it angled just so it would be on the visitor's face.

"Um, hello?" At first Wufei thought he was facing a woman. Wide blue-violet eyes and heart-shaped face, palatially long, chestnut-colored hair tied in a hip-length braid, lithe, short... The voice wasn't so feminine, but if you thought about it, some women did have unexplainably deep voices. If the visitor was female, then she had a flat chest. No make-up, as beautiful women often used make-up to enhance their looks, should have clued him in. On some distant part of his mind, it just might have. However, he wasn't listening to that part at the moment.

"Good morning," Wufei replied pleasantly, nodding. "Can I help you?" _By Nataku, if this is another stripper, I'm going to have Dorothy's head_. He'd much rather have other parts of Dorothy... Oh-kay, mind out of the gutter.

"Yes, actually. Um... is this where Heero Yuy lives?" A blush covered not only his or her face, but his or her neck as well. "I'm sorry if I made some mistake with the address or anything, and I'm pretty sure I did because I can't imagine Heero living with all this space and not blinking an eye at my tiny shoe box of an apartment. I--"

"I'm sorry, but are you a guy or a girl?" Wufei asked bluntly since he wasn't very subtle when it came to what he wanted to know. He-she stopped talking and stared at him before laughing and shaking his-her head.

"Guy."

"Thanks. Now I can think of you in male terms," Wufei replied with a grin. "Yes, Yuy lives here. He's home, in fact, which, from what I hear, is very rare these days. May I ask for your name?" He wasn't flirting. He had a girlfriend and he didn't exactly swing for guys. He had a feeling this was the 'god' Heero was pining for, but he was just making sure.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Duo. Duo Maxwell." The man out on the doorstep held out a hand for Wufei to accept and shake. "You must be Wufei."

"Chang Wufei. I've heard about you." One leery grin had the poor boy awkward. Funny how Wufei didn't feel any guilt. He had a feeling Maxwell could take and dish out some of his own prickly comments and undertoning jokes unlike, say, Trowa and Heero. "Do come in. Heero would skin me alive and boil the rest of me in hot wax if I left you out here too long."

"Oh, that's okay. Really! I just came over here to ask him something, since he forgot to give me his phone number and I can't get a hold of Howard so he could give it to me--"

"I insist." Wufei decided that, once he and Maxwell became better acquainted, he was going to use the braid as a gag. Maxwell talked too much.

----------

Three quick knocks disturbed his otherwise peaceful and silent method of getting dressed. Too bad the only thing he had managed to squirm into was his boxers. By the time he had fumbled with his sweat pants, the person at the door was knocking again. Foregoing the wife beater, musing his already mused but sopping wet hair, he opened the door only to find Wufei and a camera right in his face.

"Chang..." After the fifth time of being called 'Yuy' at the first meeting between the two, Heero had grown accustomed to calling Wufei 'Chang'. Apparently it didn't bother Chang as much as it did Heero.

"Yuy," Chang returned with an equally warning tone. The digital camera was focused right on his face, and he was sure his dark expression was caught with the image. He didn't like to be filmed outside of work. The other three actors living in the huge home felt the same. Chang, however, had other ideas of annoying them to death by trying his hardest in catching them on 'home-life film'.

"You have a visitor." A strange half-smile upturned Wufei's mouth. "I thought she was another stripper."

"She?" He let his hopes plummet. A part of him had hoped his visitor had been the topic of last night's incredibly wet dream. Knowing the dream had no trace of a female presence, he could only guess who was at the door.

"Yes, well, it turned out she wasn't a stripper sent to me by you guys. Oh, and she isn't a she either. Clearly she's a he." Wufei must have decided he didn't like a disappointed Heero since he came to telling the full story so fast, Heero wondered if Chang didn't really mean to lead him on. Thinking back, he concluded Chang had meant to lead him on, which proposed a very evil comeback later on.

"Oi, Yuy--" He was down the long hallway in a flash, and at the double stairwell in a jiffy. His braided angel below didn't look up; he seemed to be a bit busy looking at Trowa's favorite painting hanging below.

"Duo," he called down, drawing the attention of the braided American. Duo was smiling when he looked up.

"Hey, Heero, I--ack." This didn't make much sense. Suddenly the man was flushed from head to toe and adverting his eyes from his chest. The Japanese boy almost asked why, until Chang whistled behind him to draw his attention.

Something white slapped the back of his head and twisted around his face. Puzzled, he grabbed the wife beater that had been laying on his bed and sent a look toward Wufei, the damn camera held firmly in place at his eye.

Chang smirked. "I do believe you have the boy flustered, Yuy. Why don't you be civil and put the shirt on before he nose-bleeds all over the floor? I doubt Roseanna would like that very much since she waxed yesterday."

Heero finally noticed his chest was bare.

----------

Duo didn't think the wife beater helped much. That was merely his opinion of course, but when it came to matters of Heero half-naked and only putting on a thin, tight, white, sleeveless shirt that soaked in the dampness from his skin like a sponge, Duo didn't really see the point of a shirt he could see through any--

This is the part where Duo has to mentally slap himself to think straight. Figuratively speaking.

"Hey," his Japanese obsession said softly once he had walked down one of the huge flight of stairs.

"Hi..." That sounded kind of meek. Duo cleared his throat, hoping to make that as an excuse to his hoarseness.

Heero almost seemed impish with the grin he was giving. "So what brought on this little visit?"

He had a reason? It took a moment to remember that he _did_, in fact, have a reason for the visit. Opening his mouth, he began to reply...

... and found he forgot what he came there for.

"Um..."

Thankfully, Heero covered for him unintentionally. "You want something to eat? Drink?"

"Eat?" Drink? "Where'd that come from?"

Heero chuckled. "I can hear your stomach all the way from over here, Duo."

Oh. God. Blushing madly for the third time in ten minutes (he was quite surprised he stopped blushing the second time), he babbled, "Oh, that's really nothing! It's this embarrassing little hereditary trait I picked up from my dad. I could have just eaten a seven-course meal and my stomach would still make those funny growling noises. Sometimes they're so loud I have to avoid using elevators in fear of being embarrassed." Oh, great, Heero was giving him a funny look. Way to go, Maxwell. What more can you do to mortify yourself?

"Your father?" Heero tilted his head to the side in a curious fashion, damp hair falling over one eye. "I don't think I've heard you mention your parents." If Duo had, he hadn't made passing note of it.

"Oh." Duo shifted in discomfort. "He and my mom died when I was little. I've been with my aunt ever since."

Heero read Duo's body language loud an clear. The braided man wouldn't like to talk about it. Nodding, he changed the subject back to the old one.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Huh?"

"Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"Oh! Well--"

"Don't say no." Heero took his arm and dragged him to the left, where he had caught sight of a huge refrigerator, kitchen counter, and a fairly big table. "Hilde has already informed me that you have a habit of skipping meals whenever you can. You'll quickly find out that around here, Roseanna will not have that."

While Wufei started in the opposite direction in search for Dorothy, in hopes of leaving the lovebirds in peace, he couldn't help but walk close to the kitchen while Heero was listing the food items in the refrigerator.

"Uh, no thanks, I--Hey, is that peaches and cream?"

It seemed Duo couldn't resist peaches and cream yogurt. Quatre's love for only chocolate, Dorothy's love for only strawberry, Trowa's love for only grape, Heero's love for only blueberry, and Wufei's love for only cherry. All hating that one flavor of yogurt. It seemed the braided boy would soon rectify their peaches and cream surplus.

Duo Maxwell would fit in quite nicely.

_**OWARI Chapter Ten**_

**After this is the chapter that's never been seen but by mine eyes... :_wink_:**

**Random Passerby -:_frowning_: You mean the one that's taken you over, what, two years to finish?**

**Heheheh... Yeah, something like that...**

**Stick around! And review!**


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Lady Larrabee -Aaah. A wonderful critiquing, hon. I know there are grammatical errors abound; mostly because I wrote this fic two years ago, and I haven't seriously gone back over it to really correct much. I plan to do that eventually, actually; probably next weekend. I just have too much on my plate, and I simply don't have the time to really do it. Thanks for your wonderful review!**

**Shadowcat15 -You know, that's the best way to find something you actually like. I don't know how many fandoms there are where I actually read the fanfiction before actually checking out the manga or the anime. Just so you know, this actually _very_ AU.**

**Queen of the Paperclips -Heheheh. I had someone threaten me with sporks once. Considering the fact that, in my warped mind, I consider sporks tools of the devil (it's not a fork! It's not a spoon! What the hell kind of sick thing IS THIS!) I was very fearful. Getting attacked by paperclips doesn't exactly sound like a walk in the park, either... Thanks for the review!**

**Catherine Lewie Rain -I had the displeasure of trying chocolate yogurt once. I thought my taste buds would never recover... My best friend swears by it, though. Thanks for your review!**

**Sorry I can't take the time to reply to all of your reviews (and FF. Net frowns on that sort of thing...), but rest assure that I read and appreciate them so much! As a special note to Morte-di-Angeli -here's what you've been waiting for!**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Eh, it gets kind of limey here... :guilty smile: Not heavily so -but enough to kick this fic up into an M rating, according to the rating scale of FF. Net...**

**AS OF 08-28-05: Okay, I was definitely going to wait awhile before posting this, but I just got SO eager to find out everyone's input that I just HAD to post it today! So, er, be gentle, ne? I'm sick, and my fragile little heart can't take any abuse...**

**Actually, my "fragile" little heart is a shriveled black prune today, and I feel miserable enough to not really give a crap if you hate this chapter or not. But... :_wide, teary eyes_: I'll cry quietly later if everyone hates it...**

* * *

_**The Professional and the Amateur  
**__**Capricious Purple Clarity  
**__**Chapter Eleven**_

* * *

****

Three weeks after Duo Maxwell and Family moved in, things were settling into a sort of normal pace. Normal for the group of movie stars, however, was vastly different from the normal Duo and Family was used to.

Hilde found that it was tradition in the household to collect on the patio and gossip. This is something she had never really given thought to before, but soon Dorothy was dragging her to the single table, chatting in excitement about the latest rumor regarding Relena. For some reason Dorothy liked telling Hilde many things about Relena... But she also soon found herself enthralled with the form of chitchat.

Duo was mortified. But after all was said and done, he could do nothing about it.

Helen was doing a great many things. Of course she didn't climb the stairs much. She did, however, try her best to help out around the mansion. While the two housekeepers were busy with something, she would frequently wonder around looking for dust to be dusted or dishes to be done. It was habit to do this, and she didn't like to be lazy.

Solo found a lot of things to get into. Half of the mess Helen cleaned was because of the little rugrat. He was startling similar to Duo at his age, Hilde had once told Dorothy. Duo would get into anything and everything, many a times able to break something or damage another.

"He once got into his dad's truck and turned it on," Hilde had explained with a grin, either ignorant or ignoring Duo's heated stare and flushed cheeks. "He was all the way down a block before they realized he had driven off in the truck in the first place. After dodging all that without a ding, he ended up stopping the truck... with a flagpole! It was the funniest thing anybody had ever seen... besides Paul, that is."

Anyway, Solo hadn't broken much. On the day of their arrival, he had marveled a 'pretty' vase that had been sitting in the den. "Yeah," Duo had said drily. "'Pretty' expensive." It had a strange design clashing with colors of all types. Duo honestly thought it was bought plain before a two year old had gotten a hold of it with a box of markers and called it art.

Dorothy sniffed. "It's a work of art."

"It's a work of something, all right," Wufei had put forth in passing, grinning when Dorothy glared heatedly at him. "Love you, honey."

A day later that same vase had been broken. When interrogated by Duo, Solo swore up and down he was outside when it happened. Heero claimed it was okay; he didn't like the damn thing anyway. Yet Duo found it _mighty_ suspicious when, upon inspecting the patio, he found tiny shards of colored bits that greatly resembled the quote-unquote "work of something." Solo remained firm with his statement that he had 'been outside' when it had happened.

Duo found himself bored. He didn't know how that had happened. Usually he had too little time to do anything, but with the weather so crummy he had nothing to do but read a book, rehearse his lines, and take naps. If someone offered frequent flier miles with nap time, Quatre swore Duo could take a round trip to Japan.

Dorothy claimed Duo was too tense. "You need to start relaxing," she insisted one morning between bites of yogurt and sips of latte.

"Do-chan, I spend a total of sixteen out of twenty-four hours sleeping," Duo had reminded her with a grin. "There is no possible way I'm tense."

"Heero deals with stress that way," Trowa commented casually. "If a day becomes stressful, he just sleeps until his subconscious is ready to make a killer comeback."

"I try to do that, too," Solo replied solemnly over his bowl of Fruitylicious. "But my teacher ends up waking me up and tellin' Duo and Mama. Then I get a fifteen zillion minute lecture on the importance of an education."

"It's because Mama and Duo don't have one, baby," Hilde replied, patting him on the head. "Finish your breakfast. Paragon will be taking you to school in fifteen minutes."

"Where is Heero, by the way?" Quatre asked, realizing for the first time that the Japanese actor was missing. That seemed to be happening a lot as the movie progressed. He just had no idea what Heero and Howard talked about when they disappeared together.

"He said something about some solo inside scenes," Duo replied thoughtfully, "and picking up some ice."

Three out of six people at the table began to cackle gleefully. Duo held back his question with a sweatdrop and shook his head. Sometimes he would wish Wufei was around a lot more often; that guy was the only one that seemed to really make sense around the place, even if he did sometimes insist on bringing his camcorder.

Later found Duo cuddled deep into the couch, on the verge of yet another restful nap. Dorothy managed to cut in on Nappy Time though.

"Hey, Duo," she chirped noisily, flopping down on the part of the leather couch that he didn't occupy. His stomach, however, was in the vicinity of that flop, so he ended up jerking awake instead of being able to innocently ignore her.

"Hey, 'Thy," Duo greeted with a tucked in yawn, raising a hand in salutation. "What's up?"

"I just realized," Dorothy replied easily, "that you were never really given a tour of the house. Would you like that? Maybe you could find something to keep you awake. I swear, only a bear was meant to sleep as much as you do." She managed to make it sound so innocent, which clearly meant that the suggestion was far from innocence. Whenever Dorothy Catalonia sounded even remotely innocent, it just meant she was up to something. That or a strong case of the stomach flu was going around and the person she was speaking to was delusional with stomach pains. Either way, Dorothy never sounded innocent unless she had a scheme.

Poor Duo hadn't known her for a very long time. He had no idea. "Sure. I mean, if you don't mind..."

"Don't be silly!" Dorothy grinned. "Why would I ask if I minded?"

So Dorothy ended up showing him the whole kit and caboodle, from every closet to every bathroom. Their last stop, however, was certainly a door Duo had never even noticed before.

"This is Heero's room."

If Duo were a cartoon, he would have literally screeched to a grinding halt and backpedaled away from the door like it was cursed. Since he wasn't, he opted for staying in his place and nodding politely. "Uh-huh."

Unfortunately Dorothy didn't catch the hint that he didn't _want_ to know where Heero's room was, because that was bound to bring on a slue of 'should I?'s in the middle of the night. Basically if he didn't know where Heero's room was, then he was fine. Dorothy decided to open the door and wave the unsure braided boy inside.

"Dorothy..." he protested feebly, feeling her hands on his arm as he tried to turn away, "I don't think–-"

"C'mon!" Dorothy relentlessly urged, hiding a grin behind an innocent looking pout. "It'll be fine. I just want to show you his closet and personal bathroom. Then I'll leave and the tour will be over. Okay?"

Poor should-have-been-a-blonde Duo. He didn't know what hit him. "O-okay..." So she ended up showing him Heero's wide-space closet –-walk in, of course–- and they quickly moved onto the bathroom. What Dorothy hadn't told him about was the huge Jacuzzi. She did, however, introduce him to the laundry room, a small room connected to the bathroom with Heero's very own washer and dryer.

"He says he doesn't like to wash his clothes with everyone else's," Dorothy said in all seriousness. "He suspects Wufei steals his underwear. They seem to disappear every time we play a practical joke on Wu."

Heero's underwear was something else Duo didn't particularly want to hear about. "Can we go now?"

If he didn't know any better (and of course, he certainly did not), Duo could have sworn Dorothy hid a smirk. "Okay. Oh, damn. Would you look at this?" She shook her head sadly and picked up an apparently dirty towel off of the floor. "And he left the water running, too. Will you turn that off for me? I'm going to throw this in the wash."

Courteous Duo did as she asked in an almost absentminded haze, his mind wondering over the assortment of clothes Dorothy had surveyed in Heero's closet. She had even gone so far as to point out a stack of spandex shorts Heero had kept in a drawer somewhere in the closet. Geez, sometimes he wondered about that girl...

He twisted the hot water nozzle all the way off, turning the simple drippings of water into nothingness. Duo was just about to turn around and step down from the pedestal before he froze at what he saw.

Surrounding the Jacuzzi were slightly fogged-over mirrors, covering the whole wall on all three sides. In the mirror, he saw Dorothy standing right behind him, grinning from ear to ear with her hands poised just so. Before he could even _think_ of a reaction, she reached out and shoved him into the hot water.

It took him a second to find which way was up before he broke the surface with his head again. The first thing he did was choke up all the water he had swallowed. The second thing he did was take a dive out of the Jacuzzi in hopes of reaching the door before the laughing Dorothy could get behind it, slam it, and lock it shut. It took a few seconds off his time when he ended up flat on his back due to a slippery floor.

He didn't have a chance. Dorothy already had the door locked before he could catch the breath that was knocked out of him.

"Do-ro-thy!" Duo whined plaintively, managing a limp to the door once he could stand on two feet. "Dorothy, open up!"

"Nu-huh!" Really. Did all movie stars act like this? If they did, Duo seriously wanted to rethink his career change...

"Why not?"

"Because I want you to jump in that Jacuzzi and relax for the next hour. That's how long your clothes will dry, in any case. There's no _way_ I'm letting you through the house dripping wet!" Duo winced. If it wasn't for that little shove, Duo wouldn't have to wander through the mansion soaking wet. "Might as well wash them, too. I'll unlock the door as long as you promise you'll relax in there for an hour. Got me? Or else I'm not letting you out at all."

Duo was silent.

"Promise?"

"Oh, for the love of God, I promise!" Duo said in exasperation, already peeling away the cloth that clung to him like second skin. "I'll drown myself in the Jacuzzi for all it matters!"

"Not until... you're not," he heard Dorothy's muffled reply through the door, but he didn't catch it through the sound of his zipper loudly being zipped down.

"What?"

"Nothing!" There was a click, and Duo was tempted to run through the house naked, viewers be damned. However, he chickened out last minute and decided it wouldn't hurt to relax. Heero wouldn't be home for a while yet, in any case...

Would he?

----------

Heero opened the door to his home, sighing in satisfaction. Howard had managed to use the horrible weather in a scene meant only for he and Wufei, which was a major plus. Otherwise everyone basically had time off until the weather cleared and production could go as smoothly as hoped.

Sometimes acting was just too tiresome.

Dorothy was –-oh, no–- merrily skipping down the stairs. Heero cringed when he wondered what exactly she had done. Usually if Doro was skipping, it meant she had pulled something she thought was completely masterful and ingenious.

"Heero!" she exclaimed pleasantly, smiling brightly at him when she reached the base of the stairs. "You're back earlier than expected." She sounded unusually pleased with that fact.

"What did you do?" It was better to cut to the quick when Dorothy was concerned. There was no telling what would be popping out from one's closet, or the strange state of one's bed sheets. He certainly hadn't expected the miniature plastic lawn cows. Hell, he doubted Dorothy had expected most of things she had pulled. That quality was what made Doro 'Dorothy'.

"I don't–- oh. You think I pulled something, don't you?" Her look was hurt, and she actually crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. "I'll tell you this, Heero Yuy. Right now you _certainly_ aren't worth my artistic effort!"

Heero was smarter than that. She hadn't denied a damn thing. Unfortunately, he wasn't exactly in the mood to dig the details out with a nutcracker.

"You're soaking wet," she observed quite calmly, looking at his dripping attire. "Where's the ice?"

Heero smirked. "The trucks are bringing it around back now."

"And Wu-babe? Is he... busy?"

"Howard understood the need to have Chang away for a while," Heero replied with an almost-there grin. "He'll be busy for quite some time. Howard decided to film those 'questionable' scenes with Milliardo's character during the storm that's raging right now. Take in the major traffic, I'd say Chang's going to be quite busy until this afternoon."

"Perfect," Dorothy murmured. "Plenty of time... Storm will clear up by them, don't you think? He'll want us back at the studio." Dorothy almost seemed worried. Heero had to shake his head. Didn't she ever learn?

"It's been taken care of," he replied. "The tarp should block the heat, and I've disabled the heating system. The ice will still be there for a long while yet."

"Hee-kun, you're a genius," Dorothy cackled. "While Wu is expecting strippers and sex phone telemarketers, we've already planned something different."

"Where are the Lovebirds and the Family?"

"The Lovebirds took the Family to the mall. Duo's around here somewhere," she remarked almost absently, rubbing her chin lightly. "Saw him about to drift off earlier." She grinned.

"Ah," Heero nodded, shaking his head. He never knew a human being could sleep so long. It seemed that every time he came in, he found Duo napping. Sometimes he found the braided American napping in the strangest places.

"I'm going to soak," he told her, passing her by. He didn't miss her eyes flashing in excitement, and he stopped to stare at her critically. "You should give Duo something to do when I'm not around. I don't want him to be bored to tears and feel left out."

Dorothy snickered. "Sure thing, Hee-kun."

----------

Sometimes this was just too easy.

----------

Duo wanted to kill Dorothy. Violently. Gleefully. _Slowly_. Many ways of achieving this goal floated through his mind as he moodily slumped into the glorified bathtub's steaming, bubbly water. So many methods of torture and only -he glanced at the golden wall clock in the corner- fifty-five minutes to choose between them.

_This is the most difficult problem I've had to face for sometime nearing a week_, a moody voice quipped sullenly in his conscience._ I'm such a mooch._

Then it hit him.

_I'm sitting naked in Heero's glorified bathtub._ This realization brought a startled 'meep!' out from his lips. _Heero possibly bathed in this thing before he left two hours ago_. This thought, admittedly, brought forth more than a meep.

_Oh, God._

"Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito–- oh, to hell with it!" Duo cried fanatically before dunking his entire body under the steaming liquid. Finding himself aroused in Heero's jacuzzi was hardly a misfortune.

It was a fatal train wreck.

----------

Heero thought he heard something odd when he came into his personal bathroom, soaked shirt pulled over his head and away from his shivering torso with a malicious glare toward the offending article of clothing. He threw it in the direction of the laundry room without a glance in that direction before shedding his jeans and treating them with the same courtesy.

He hadn't seen Duo. Anywhere. The braided beauty had been MIA when Heero made a passing glance into the living room, the kitchen, the guest bedrooms, and the hall bathroom. He wasn't angry with Duo -more like he was upset that he couldn't find Duo.

He shed the remainder of his clothes on his brisk journey to the small laundry room to the side, slinging his articles into the wash before walking toward the Jacuzzi to take a quick bath before lunch.

He froze at the top step. The bath had been run recently, the water still steaming. He saw I peek of chestnut strands through the liberal amount of bubbles...

Duo surfaced, his head thrown back, amethyst orbs hidden behind closed eyelids. Head, face, neck, well-shaped shoulders, smooth, bare chest glistening with water and decorated in suds. Hair plastered to ever crevasse of his upper body, down that smooth, lined spine and defined shoulder blades. Thick locks clung to his face, and he absently wiped them away as he slowly blinked the water from his eyes.

The long-haired man froze, violet eyes wide as the color drained from his face, staring at the dazed Japanese man in a moment of blind panic. As if completely possessing a will of their own, his eyes flickered down to the rest of Heero before Duo gasped slightly, his eyes flying back to Heero's lustful face. Two faint spots of pink appeared high on Duo's cheeks.

"H-heero..."

With a strangled moan, Heero abruptly leaned over the rim of the Jacuzzi and planted his lips firmly over Duo's, needy and lustful and gentle all rolled into a single package. For a moment, Duo didn't move at all until finally he relaxed into the soul-searing kiss. Heero gently threaded his fingers through the thick strands of hair at the nape of his innocent lover's neck, vainly attempting to pull Duo even closer, if at all possible. It was... magnificent. Innocuous and indigence and heat tying them tightly together in one glorious moment before Heero reluctantly drew back, pressing his forehead against Duo's breathlessly.

"Duo..."

"Heero, I-" Heero put a finger against Duo's lips, quieting the man with a soft smile.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" His stomach felt as if everything was in knots, and he could hardly breathe at all in Duo's hesitation. He feared that the long-haired man would say no, would feel as if everything was going too fast. He waited with baited breath for the answer, dozens of heartbreaking scenarios playing through his head...

"I... I wouldn't mind," Duo said shyly, meeting Heero's eyes bashfully.

Heart hammering in Heero's chest, he smiled and joined Duo in the Jacuzzi, smile softening when Duo timidly averted his eyes in the process. He wrapped his arm around Duo's waist and, with his other hand at Duo's chin, tilted the face with those bejeweled eyes toward him. He rubbed his thumb absently at the violet-eyed man's bottom lip.

Duo's breath hitched.

"You're so beautiful," Heero murmured huskily.

"I... thank you..." Heero held back his amusement. Duo was hardly without words; finding that such a state could be achieved was close to miraculous. His amusement fled when Duo bravely pressed his lips to Heero's, and the Japanese man lost himself in a haze of wet lips and teeth and flesh...

----------

The phone rang. Dorothy snatched the phone from its cradle before checking the caller I.D. with a small groan. Heero's publicist. Wonderful. Resisting the urge to ignore it, she answered with a stilted, "Hello?"

"Dorothy, hon! Is Heero there? We simply must talk about arranging public appearances before Gundam Wing comes out, and-"

"He's busy, Lyle."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I spoke to him for-"

"He'll mind. Call back tomorrow."

Click. Almost as an afterthought, she picked up the phone and left it on the table, the dial tone barely audible as she left the room with a skip to her step and humming a jaunty tune.

_**OWARI Chapter Eleven**_

**I'm TERRIBLE:_grin_: Comments and criticism, ladies and gents -it's what the author craves.**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Today, I wish to jump into a pit and mosh. Mosh like I've never moshed before. However, since that activity is not currently available to me, I will simply write this chapter... and listen to heavy metal music as I imagine moshing.**

**I live a rich fantasy life.**

**And I really hate this chapter. I promise, things will eventually pick up -there's an actual plot buried around here somewhere...**

* * *

**_The Professional and the Amateur  
_****_Capricious Purple Clarity  
_****_Chapter Twelve_**

* * *

****

In the early pre-dawn of what originally promised to be somewhat of a good day, Chang Wufei decided that it was high time he take a few laps in the pool. In retrospect, this sudden desire to continue his normal morning ritual proved slightly disastrous.

Funny. But disastrous.

Looking back, he probably should have expected it.

So, dressed in his black swimmer wear (which could only be considered glorified underwear in the... tightest... sense) and his hair pulled tightly in a small tail at the nape of his neck, he pounced upon the end of the diving board, sailed through the air with the grace of a gazelle, angled _just_ so as he plummeted toward the serene surface of the clear water, noting -very belatedly, he realized later- that there seemed to be something floating in the water _just_ as he silently broke the surface of the water...

All was silent.

And then he rose up out of the water with a great struggle, gasping for air and finding that he could not, in fact, even begin to articulate his angry bellow for the sudden icy coldness that seemed to grip and grind his very bones. Teeth chattering, body trembling violently as he jerkily made his way toward the edge of the frozen water to climb out of the pool, he only had one word in mind.

_**Revenge.**_

And since Yuy's room was the closest, he would be the first to bow under the rage that was Chang Wufei: Pissed Off. Donning a robe and armed with his weapon of choice, he silently stalked up the winding stairs that led to the second floor of the mansion, careful not to alert anyone sleeping of his presence. He soundlessly entered Yuy's domain; in the dim light that filtered through the window, he saw the target of his ire.

Brilliant. Yuy was very clearly naked.

Not brilliant. Duo Maxwell was in the same state, curled around Yuy's body as if the Japanese man were an oversized teddy bear.

The unexpected sight of Yuy and Duo, together (finally), gave Wufei some pause. Pale skin against golden tan, wiry arms and legs entangled like vines; Duo's head was resting on Yuy's arm, which was curled around the long-haired man's shoulders protectively. One of Duo's arms was resting on Yuy's bare, muscular chest. Make no mistake -Wufei was as straight as a ruler. However, even he had to appreciate the exquisite picture the two made after a night of very... obvious pleasurable activity.

It was enduring. "Aww," he murmured softly. "How cute." And then he smirked and promptly dumped a bucketful of icy pool water over the both of them. He barely resisted the urge to cackle when both men snapped awake instantly.

Duo squawked and, limbs flailing, one of his knees managed to catch Yuy right in the soft spot before he gracelessly tumbled from bed, taking the sheets with him and exposing Yuy's bare essentials. Yuy was caught between the shock to the system that only iced water could wrought and the rather obvious pain in his groin from where Duo had kneed him.

"Wha -what the _hell_?" Duo chattered. Wufei almost felt sorry for him; he doubted Duo had anything to do with the others' little prank. The sight of Yuy, slumped over his sensitive man-flesh and groaning more than made up Wufei's slight hitch of a conscience.

_Justice._

"Chang," Yuy growled. "Omae o korosu!"

"Rise and shine, Lovebirds," Wufei said cheerfully, as if receiving death threats before six was normal. In any case, it wasn't something he hadn't experienced before. He slung the bucket over his shoulder casually and raised an eyebrow at Yuy. "So, which one of you numbnuts came up with this brilliant plan? No, don't tell me. This stinks of Catalonia. Am I right?"

Yuy sent him a Death Glare that, at one time, sent shivers of bed-wetting fear up the paparazzi's spines. Not many people realized that this look had many variations, with hundreds of different meanings. This one said, "I'm going to boil you in jam, cover you in honey, and bury you in a fire ant hill on a really hot day, just see if I don't."(1)

"Thought so," Wufei said cheerfully. "Well. Have a pleasant morning." He grinned at Duo, who seemed caught between bemusement and embarrassment. "Nice going, Maxwell. And I thought things between you and Yuy were going slow."

Duo said one word. "Dorothy."

"Hm. She seems to have her fingers in everyone's pie lately," Wufei mused. He calmly slipped the bucket over Yuy's head, rapped his knuckles against the side gently, and swiftly moved out into the hall, remembering the two buckets of water he'd left outside for his next three victims.

----------

For a long moment, not a word was spoken after Wufei's abrupt departure. Heero yanked the bucket off his head and threw it with a muffled curse, strangely dissatisfied when it didn't actually hit anything but the ground.

Duo peered up at Heero through his lashes and smiled bashfully. "And I thought things were going to be awkward between us after last night."

Despite being cold, wet, and in slight pain in his nether regions, Heero found himself smiling at his lover. "Well... After something like that... there isn't really room left to feel awkward." Embarrassed, yeah. Sort of vengeful -definitely. Awkward? No.

Duo grinned impishly. "Someone needs to tell Wufei that black speedos... not very flattering. Too... erm, slimming."

Heero threw his head back and laughed. Loudly. His laughter almost drowned out the angry sounds of Trowa and Quatre experiencing the same rude awakening.

----------

Everyone but Solo, Helen, and Hilde seemed to be shooting one Chang Wufei some nasty glares. The Chinese man remained rather smug about the whole event, and even helped himself to a second serving of pancakes that he cheerfully ate with rather proud shit-eating grin on his face.

"Adults are weird," Solo announced solemnly before attacking his fruity cereal with a vengeance.

"Maybe," Duo said; probably the only one who had a rude awakening who wasn't glaring daggers at Wufei, "but we like to pretend to be normal anyway."

"It's all very relative, really," Quatre said casually, smiling smugly as he 'accidently' knocked the salt shaker onto Wufei's plate. "'Normal' is all according to the current perception of the individual and society as a whole."

"I don't know what that means," Solo pointed out. "I'm six." And he held up exactly that many fingers to further emphasize the point.

Quatre smiled. "You will eventually."

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Hilde asked as she expertly went behind Solo's back to wipe away a trail of milk that had escaped from the corner of his mouth. The little boy made a sour face at his mouth and wiggled away urgently, away from the rough napkin.

"Duel with Zechs Marquise," Wufei said cheerfully. "It's going to be a fruitless effort that will spur Chen to question his entire philosophy on life."

"Keric and Trent find a mutual love of music," Quatre said with a fond look at his lover. "The potential for a relationship thickens."

"Hiroshi's going to steal Daniel's Gundam parts on the sly to fly off on a mission," Duo said dryly. "Daniel's going to be properly pissed."

"Meanwhile Hiroshi's going to blow up a military installment amidst much psychotic laughter," Heero said with a fond grin aimed toward Duo. "I get to work in the green room today."

"Rub it in, why don't you," Duo mumbled with a playful swat in Heero's direction.

"Dora is going to enroll in Rina's new school for pacifists in hopes of challenging the princess to a duel of morals and wit," Dorothy said casually. "The school uniform the costume director picked out is completely atrocious. And whoever found Relena's character that pink limo needs to be shot. Many times. With a handcannon."

"I'm gonna stay home from school today," Solo said happily, "and play violent, frightening video games that will warp my puerile mind."

Hilde blinked. "Nice try," she said with a smirk, poking the giggling six year old in the side. "Where did you hear those words?"

"Mr. Fei said it yesterday," Solo giggled. "What's sex mean?"

Duo dropped his fork, eggs flying across the table. "What!"

"Sex," Solo repeated. "Mr. Fei and Ms. Doro were giggling about you and Mr. Heero having sex last night."

Helen covered her smile with a well-placed napkin. Hilde crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow expectantly at her cousin. The two aforementioned gossipers were very carefully avoiding any and all contact with the braided man.

"... Does it matter if you get presents for Christmas?" Duo said lamely, his cheeks flushed red. And damn Heero for not meeting his eyes for fear of laughing hysterically at his plight.

"So sex is something you give someone else for Christmas?"

"Erm... sometimes... other holidays can be involved..."

"Am I ever going to get sex?"

Duo whimpered, eyes bulging. _Not in a million years. Ever. I'm going to wipe this entire conversation from my memory. Will wash and wash, but never feel clean again,_ was only one of a thousand hysterical remarks zipping around in Duo's brain.

"Was it Mr. Heero's birthday?" Solo asked, turning his full attention to Heero. "You never said it was your birthday. Happy birthday!"

The Japanese man couldn't take it anymore. The expression on Duo's face compared to the complete naivety of Solo and the very obvious amusement of everyone else broke his resolve, and he immediately threw his head back and laughed wildly.

"Heero!" Duo whined, aghast. "It's _not_ funny!"

"Is he kidding?" Dorothy murmured to Wufei privately. "It's freaking hilarious."

Wufei smirked. Mornings couldn't really get any better than this.

----------

With the Lovebirds, Wufei, and Dorothy piled in the back of the cherry red Hummer and Duo securely buckled in the front seat beside him, Heero sped along the interstate, part of his attention on the road, even less attention on the speeding motorheads on their way to work, and a large part of his attention frowning at his cell phone.

"Heero, pay attention to the road," Duo squeaked after the third blaring horn that faded behind them. "That's the third guy you almost hit in the last... three minutes?" Duo stared at the digital clock, aghast. "Oh, we're never going to make it there alive..."

"Suck it up, braid-boy," Dorothy said from the backseat, not unkindly. "Imagine having to go through driver's education with him. Oh, yeah. I went there."

Heero decided it would be more benefitial to his health if he just ignored their complaints about his driving. "Why do I have sixteen voice mails from Lyle?"

Dorothy immediately adopted a look of innocence, which never looked quite so innocent on her devious face. "Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention that Lyle called. Something about publicity stuff."

Heero made a sour face. "Did he happen to mention what kind of publicity stuff?" Public appearances, he could deal with. Interviews with reporters always brought out the worse in him.

"I don't think he did."

"Who's Lyle again?"

"Lyle Marson is Yuy's annoying manager," Wufei muttered, disgruntled. "He's a weasel. Eyes the color of money and mind focused on much of the same. Damn good at his job, though, which I suppose is why Heero hasn't fired him yet."

"Did you ever convince Lyle that you aren't interested in a 1200 page biography on your life?" Quatre asked.

"1200 pages?" Duo muttered, agog. "What's to tell? You were born, you act, and you prefer boxers over briefs. Aren't those the facts anyone really cares about?"

Everyone in the backseat smirked, exchanging knowing looks amongst themselves. "You would know Yuy's underwear preference," Wufei said, teasingly accusatory.

"What's that?" Duo said lightly. "Is that Speedo Man talking? Those things made you look like you were hung like a tictac. Just thought I'd point that out."

Quatre snorted loudly, hiding his face in Trowa's shirt, shoulders shaking in silent laughter. The taller man wasn't nearly so muffled in his amusement; Duo had no idea the normally stoic man could be so loud in his hilarity. Even Heero was chuckling softly as Wufei glowered at Duo.

"Looks can be deceiving," Dorothy said delicately, smirking as she placed a possessive hand on Wufei's biceps.

"You try jumping in sub-zero pool water and see how your package weathers," Wufei retorted. "Just remember this, braid-boy -I've seen yours, too. Very... pretty."

"What's with you people an calling me braid-boy?" Duo grumped good-naturedly, smiling despite it. "And I can't believe you just called my package pretty. I thought you and Doro were the straight ones."

"Oh, damn, that's right," Dorothy sighed. "Cancel the orgy, Wu -we're straight, so we don't know how to be kinky."

"Ew." Heero made a face. "Your sex life is actually the last one I want to hear about, Dorothy."

"And yet, almost always the first one that comes into topic," Quatre pointed out laughingly.

"All you gay people are the same," Dorothy said mockingly. "I demand that my lover and I be treated equally amongst you -straight people have feelings too!"

"Of course you do," Quatre said patronizingly. "Which is why we're very conscientious about your feelings, even though we outnumber you two to one, and we're only saying it because it makes us feel like better people for it."

"I'm not going to be your fag hag anymore," Dorothy mumbled sullenly. "Wufei, Quatre's being mean to me again."

"Quatre, stop being mean to Dorothy."

"Trowa," Quatre said whiningly, "Wufei's _scolding_ me again!"

"Wufei, stop scolding Quatre."

"Do you want me to turn this car around?" Heero demanded. "Sit back, shut up, and if I hear one more peep out of any of you, I'm strapping you to the hood!"

The Hummer jarred suddenly.

"Heero, for God's sake, watch the road!" Duo shrieked, clutching at his door for comfort.

There was a moment of silence.

"That was so surreal," Dorothy mentioned casually. "Daddy, can I have a pony?"

"Shut up, Dorothy."

"Mommy, Daddy just told me to shut up! Tell him I don't have to."

"One more word," Duo said solemnly, "and I'm letting Heero strap you to the hood."

"'Letting' me?"

"Oooh," all four occupying the backseat hummed in breathless awe reminiscent of small children who were witnessing a father about to be effectively put in his place.(2)

The scene was broken by the sudden shrill rang of Heero's cell phone. Heero groaned when he saw the number on the glowing display just before he flipped the phone open and held it aloft. "Lyle, not now -I'm driving."

"If not now, when?" the echoing voice of the weasel broke through, sounding strangely philosophical.

"If not cheese, why whine?" Duo mumbled.

"Who was that? Never mind. Heero, baby, I've been trying to get a hold of you all night! What have you been doing?"

"If you really want to know-" Heero started, slanting a sly look at Duo.

"He doesn't," Duo said warningly.

"He's been doing Duo," Dorothy piped giddily from the backseat. "Enthusiastically. Twice."

"You were _listening_!"

"Well, I had to make sure my plan to get the two of you laid worked, right?"

"Pervert," Wufei muttered. Dorothy fluttered her eyelashes at him prettily.

"Yeah, but I'm _your_ pervert, Wubear."

"Ah, Dorothy," Lyle said pleasantly. "Always a pleasure." Even said so cordially, anyone with the ability to hear could read into his subliminal context. _Evil demon of Hades, go back to your master!_

"Lyle," Dorothy said sweetly. "The same." Translation: _Didn't you make a contract with my master years ago?_

"Listen, Heero, baby," Lyle said, immediately brushing off Dorothy, "there's this new club opening up tonight that's just dying to have you at their grand opening. Very posh establishment -they're willing to pay an obscene sum of cash just for you to show your handsome face."

Lyle sounded absolutely gleeful, giving Duo the impression of an exaggerated cartoon character with dollar signs in his eyes and a lustful expression on his face. And yes, strangely enough, the cartoon character resembled a weasel.

"Tonight?" Heero muttered. "That's really short notice, Lyle. I have plans." Plans that had included him, Duo, and a lot of privacy.

"Cancel them," Lyle said in cheerful dismissal. "Trust me on this, Heero, you want to be promoting that risque movie of yours, and to do that, you need to get back into the public eye from which you've strayed just this far."

Damn it. "Duo, want to go to a club with me?"

"Eh. Sounds fun," Duo said with a casual shrug, secretively pleased that Heero had asked him as he glanced at his boyfriend from the corner of his eye. He smiled bashfully. "I've never been clubbing before."

Heero decided, then and there, that such a statement was tantamount to homicide. Duo Maxwell, never losing himself in the throbbing, anonymous atmosphere in traditional clubbing gear? It was a crime. "Yeah, okay. Lyle, call them up and tell them I'll be there with a date."

"Good boy," Lyle said. "Is he cute?"

"Adorable," Heero confirmed.

Duo fought the blush that was slowly spreading over his cheeks. Instead, he said, sounding quite miffed, "What, is good looks all anyone cares about anymore?"

"Duo's also very kind, sweet, bashful, and even more stubborn than a mule," Heero added fondly. Duo grinned.

"You're so whipped." This, surprisingly, came from Trowa.

"No one asked for any comments from the peanut gallery," Duo said airily, reveling in Heero's 'whipped' status.

"Fabulous! The club is called _42_, and it's right on the corner of Abraham and Yule. I'll fax you with a more detailed description. Get there early, but fashionably late. Ta!"

"_42_?" Wufei muttered. "Just _42_? Weird."

"It's the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything," Duo said absently, watching uneasily as Heero cut yet another innocent bystander off at the pass. When no one made any comments, he looked around at all the blank stares.

"_The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_," Duo added, waiting for the lights to click. When they didn't, he rolled his eyes. "God, don't you people ever read?"

"I think I've seen that movie," Quatre mused.

"There's a _movie_ about it?" Duo exclaimed. "Since when!(3)"

"Since forever," Wufei said smugly. "God, Maxwell, don't you ever watch television?"

Duo narrowed his eyes at the Chinese man. "Touche, Speedo Man."

"Stop calling me Speedo Man!"

Needless to say, by the time Heero pulled into the set parking lot, he seemed to be having this twitching problem under his left eye. The twitch, when seen by either Duo or Wufei, always spurred both or either of them into sporadic bouts of snickering. The Japanese man was seriously considering sneaking some starch in Wufei's underwear drawer, and Duo... Well, Duo had seemed to forgotten that Heero was ace at delighting the body, and he could drag out such pleasures all night if he wanted to.

Oh, that would be _fun_.

There were only trace amounts of his scowl left when they all sauntered to hair and makeup under Howard's strict orders.

"What have I told you about making that face?" Monica the makeup artist demanded. "Stop it. Right now! Scowling completely ruins your complexion."

"Not to mention increases your chances of fine lines and wrinkles," Relena added in passing.

"Duo thinks it's cute," Heero said innocently.

"Oh, yeah," Duo said, spinning around in the chair beside Heero like an excited six year old would do. "There's nothing more sexy about a man who looks like he's constipated all the time."

Heero shot Duo a good-natured scowl, and the American man grinned wildly, unabashed. "Oh, there it is! Heero, God, take me now!"

Relena snorted. "Somebody got _laid_. Oh... good morning."

"Morning," Duo said delicately, deciding to ignore the first part of her statement. He watched wearily as a man whose name he vaguely recalled being Paul or Simon come at him with an instrument of makeup application.

"Morning Relena," Quatre chirped, David the makeup artist already working his magic. "You look unnaturally perky for this time of day."

"Four cups of coffee does that," Relena replied. "Five minutes on the set and I already want the day to be over."

"You're putting too much on," Duo said suddenly, shifting back in his chair as if to escape the spongy thing of doom. "I'm supposed to be a pilot, not a crossdresser."

"With that hair, who can tell the difference?" Simon (Paul?) quipped casually, bringing out the tube thing Duo thought was called eyeliner or something. "Hold still..."

"Suck it up, Maxwell," Wufei said from down the way, having his hair pulled into an ultra-tight ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"You're the second person to tell me that today," Duo said accusingly. "What is this, Pound Duo's Delicate Ego Day?"

"Interesting choice of words..."

"God, you're such a pervert, Quatre." The blond shrugged casually, as if to say 'what can you do?'

"I blame Dorothy. Things like that must be communally contagious. While I'm thinking about it, I forgot to mention that Sanja is pregnant again."

"Which one is she?" Heero asked absently, fighting the urge to reflexively glance at the blond man as Monica applied the makeup around his eyes.

"Tenth oldest, I think. The one with the birthmark shaped like Florida on her right forearm? Apparently I've attended two of her children's births, but there are so many of those that I've forgotten..."

"What are you talking about?" Duo asked, puzzled.

"My sisters," Quatre replied. "I have twenty-nine. It's hard to keep them straight."

_Twenty-nine?_ "Is that even possible?"

"Seventy-two nieces and nephews," Trowa added. "I'm almost certain Quatre's father is driven by the simple need to insert his genes in every gene pool known to man, just to make him feel like he populated the world. As you can imagine, he's a little upset that I'm dating his only son."

"Gay men can't exactly do the baby-making machine bit," Quatre said delicately before grinning at Trowa. "But you have to admit, Father did give me one thing you appreciate -his rather healthy libido."

Trowa nodded wisely. "That's about the only favor that man ever inadvertently did me."

"You people really can't go five minutes without talking about sex, can you?" Relena said with a smirk.

"Says the girl who commented that someone got laid thirty seconds after walking in," Wufei retorted.

"Your welcome, by the way," Dorothy murmured, slanting a catty smirk at Duo.

"Why?" Duo muttered sullenly. "You got a free peep show out of it. You should be thanking us."

"Don't think we owe you any favors," Heero said. "We didn't kill your boyfriend this morning. That's thanks enough."

"As if I'd let you," Wufei said smugly.

Any further conversation was cut when Howard stormed in, demanding just what was taking so damn long and informing all of them that they had a full schedule today, and they really needed to get their asses in gear. And so began another hectic day on the set.

_**END CHAPTER TWELVE**_

* * *

**(1) Hmm, Heero's Glares seem to be saying a lot in both my fics... Coincidentally (or not) it seems to have a lot to do with torture, murder, and castration. Er. Well. One threat-glare of castration. It's implied. Why do I work better when I'm dead tired again?...**

**(2) This entire car scene is courtesy of me, my brother, and my parents trapped in the same car when yours truly is on a sugar high. I do believe my mother muttered something akin to, "No wonder we have four different vehicles... If only we could afford the gas to drive our seperate cars..."**

**(3) The book is so much better than the movie, but even I have to admit that hearing an entire beginning broadwayesque song entitled "So Long and Thanks For the Fish" sung by dolphins is aesthetically pleasing to my humor gland. So is the idea that humans are, in fact, the third most intelligent species on Earth, with dolphins being second. So much for high expectations. (On that note, I'm glad I have a friend who works at a video rental store, mostly due to the fact I get to see a lot of movies before they officially come out on their release date. Yay, free rental!)**


End file.
